


Don't Nuckelavee Me

by CardboarianNights



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, End Game polyamory, Fix-it fic, Joseph is still Joseph but kind of tired of being a dick to Mary too?, M/M, Mary enjoys dadsona's company, No Cult Ending, Nuckelavee AU, Romance, a nuckelavee is a demon that is full horse, ancient monster, dadsona is a cryptid, dadsona like long walks in the middle of the night in nature reserves, dating the married couple in a wholesome manner, endgame is a wholesome open marriage between dadsona/Joseph/Mary, it's pretty cool!, mary deserves happiness, minor Dadsona/Mary, monster au, monster dads, so does joseph, there's no cheating on dadsona's part in this fic's universe, timeline differences, wholesome and tired Joseph, with the rider merged at the waist on the horse's back where the rider traditionally sits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2018-12-12 22:18:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11746305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CardboarianNights/pseuds/CardboarianNights
Summary: John is very much one of those 'cryptids' that are all the rage on the net but he ain't a vampire or a werewolf. No. He's pretty close to what the Scottish called a 'Nuckelavee' and even originated in Scotland as well.But he's mostly a human these days that loves his daughter and only prances around as a monster late at night in the forest reserve while Amanda watches his six.The only problem is that she leaves for college in a few days and he now has more problems regarding his other form than he would like. It doesn't help that Joseph Christiansen catches onto him and John can't bring himself to kill him to hide his secret...(edit: abandoned but leaving up for archiving purposes)





	1. Horsing Around

**Author's Note:**

> Excerpt from Wikipedia:
> 
> 'The nuckelavee ( /nʌklɑːˈviː/) or nuckalavee is a horse-like demon from Orcadian mythology that combines equine and human elements. It has its origins in Norse mythology, and is the most horrible of all the demons of Scotland's Northern Isles. The nuck component of its name may be cognate with Nick in Old Nick, a name for the Christian Devil. The nuckelavee's breath was thought to wilt crops and sicken livestock, and the creature was held responsible for droughts and epidemics on land despite its being predominantly a sea-dweller.'
> 
> With that said, John has lost a lot of his powers over the centuries and even more when he learned how to shift into a human form. It will not follow the mythology 1:1 but I hope you guys will enjoy this take on the Scottish monster so more people can learn about it! Yes, I only learned about this monster through RWBY's grimm-version but the visual design barely follows what Rooster Teeth made in this fic.
> 
> Also, the 'AU' tag is simply because the timeline and character development is a lot different than in the game. John has not romanced any of the dads but is a drinking buddy with Robert and Mary. Mary is basically BFFs with John though she does not know John harbors a secret crush on Joseph. 
> 
> Please read and enjoy!

John felt like he could breath out here in Maple Bay after he moved here with his daughter, Amanda, from the busy city. Being so close to the sea brought him back to his roots that he long missed on Scotland’s shores and felt his vitality restoring. His joints regained the flexibility they once had, his back muscles strengthened and he could almost feel all four of his phantom legs dig into the fresh sand when he ran the beach every morning with Craig.

It was only out in the nature reserve that John could be himself; his natural self.

Amanda and John arrived in the small reserve parking lot around eleven on a Tuesday night. The chances of late night hikers or even high schoolers screwing around in the woods being rare as they got out of the car. No other cars in the lot but their own, a good start so far as long as they were out of the reserve by midnight before the cops would probably look for the owners of the ‘abandoned’ car. All John wanted was thirty minutes of uninterrupted privacy in the clearing deep inside the forest reserve to ‘horse around’, as Amanda put it.

Amanda was armed with a high power box flashlight and a whistle hanging from a string on her neck while John just carried an athlete bag on his back with a rolled up beach towel inside in case he got wet or stepped in a muddy puddle. She turned on the flashlight and walked along side her adoptive father as she whistled a tune casually; not afraid of the darkness whatsoever considering that they’ve done this once a week since she was old enough to walk. A tradition that would end when Amanda goes off to college…

They didn't talk much about as they moved at a brisk pace along the bike path, keeping an eye out for anyone else who might be in the woods at this hour in case they had to reschedule. Amanda weaving the bright light back and forth towards the trees while popping bubble gum in her mouth. John didn't expect a conversation, having taught Amanda that being a lookout was critical for her father to keep his secret and have their little family stay together.

They got to the opening of the meadow in the reserve after walking a short distance off the path where the endless tall grass rolled in the late-night summer breeze. John could feel his phantom limbs aching and his urge to break into a full out sprint growing. 

“Turn around, Panda.” He forewarned her.

“One step ahead of you, Pops.” Amanda chuckled.

John took a quick peek over his shoulder as he headed to the tree he always undressed behind, making sure she wasn't going to pull a prank to scare him even though she long since grew out of scaring him before he shifted. Sure, she was ten the last time she did that but who knew what his sneaky panda would do if he completely dropped his guard.

He checked his surrounding before he started stripping down and folded his articles of clothing to pack into his bag. John took out his towel and draped it over a low-hanging branch before finally taking off his socks and shoes. The ground was damp but not too bad as he neatly rolled up his socks before placing them in his shoes and set them and his bag under the branch where his towel hung in case it started drizzling. It was better to be prepared for it than have to suffer trekking back to the car with soaked clothing if a short rainstorm came in.

With his clothing situated, John looked up and walked backwards fully in the nude, making sure he wouldn't hit his head on any branches shifting and make a racket. Once he felt he had sufficient space above and around him, John looked back over in the direction where Amanda was.

“All clear, Manda?”

“Roger dodger! No normies in sight!” Amanda announced happily, giving John the go ahead to start shifting.

While the act was considered shapeshifting to other ‘cryptids’, John was much, much older and didn't require his limbs snapping painfully like a werewolf's would under the full moon or need the blood of humans to maintain his healthy appearance like a vampire; no, he merely let himself indulge in his phantom pains and let out the energy he gathered from his neighbor remold himself seamlessly into… well, himself.

Black miasma pouring out from his body as he became demon. The black body of a horse forming while John’s human form dissolved to become the ‘rider’ of the horse, merged at the hip with his human legs unnecessary since he was both the horse and rider. John’s old armor affixed to his remarkably slimmer form, a remnant of centuries long gone where he had to fight to survive until he learned about this kind of concealment of his true nature. He even had his trusty spear on his back, meaning, unfortunately, stress was very high in the neighbors he passive leached such emotional energy off of.

“Damn, Dad. Was it that bad of a week for Maple Bay?” Amanda asked as John leaned his human half over to avoid hitting the branches as he stepped out of the safety of the trees. 

The black miasma continued to swirl around the pitch black form of John’s cryptid form, tugging on John’s heartstrings as he raised a clawed hand to watch a wisp of it wrap around his fingers. John wasn't a creature that brought misfortunate but merely collected it. He once terrorized port towns and the like intentionally to build up his power to fight against those who wanted him dead but he has long moved past that. Human food and centuries of adapting to a sleep cycle when he had none has allowed him to live independent of siphoning off the suffering of others to survive. 

“Dad? You okay there?” Amanda asked with some concern, drawing her father’s red eyes from his rider half and lowered his hand when realized he was caught stuck in his own head.

“Yeah.” John reassured her with unnatural gravel in his voice, from her point-of-view since she was used to his other form he was in ninety-five percent of the time. “Yeah, it looks worse than it actually is. Someone was probably having a rougher week than normal.”

Mostly himself…

Not wanting to worry Amanda with his problems, he lifted his head up and looked out towards the open meadow eagerly, his legs itching for a good gallop to work off some stress. 

“I’m heading off! Whistle me when time is up!” John waved to her before rearing up his horse half, resisting the urge to let out a yell or let his horse half let out an energetic war cry. 

He bounded off as Amanda gave him a thumbs up and turned away with her flashlight to keep watch. The wind felt so good on his full form, his hair and mane whipping in the wind, his hooves pounding the earth below as he cut through the tall grass. John’s heart pounded in his chest and his spirit was soaring as leapt over down tree trunks and small boulders. Deer and small creatures scattered as he charged through the field and he let out a laugh at how fun this all was.

He felt so at home in the darkened field and with the ocean so close in comparison to the small parks in bad neighborhoods he had to make due with since police were slower to respond there. It was shitty to risk his and Amanda’s life like that but he NEEDED to vent the miasma that built up inside or him. He needed to run free and trample the earth below his hooves even if it was only once a month.

Those were the worst years of his life; being contained so tightly in a human shell with no human relaxation technique or equipment giving him the ability to vent the negative energy he fed off of. Thank goodness for Amanda understanding her ‘horse dad’s’ needs and her enjoyment of bonding together while she sat in his lap while they rode. So much of his life was providing for his sweet daughter and enjoying it with her but now she would move on from the nest. 

He would have no one to watch his back when he needed to vent.

John slowed himself to a brisk trot, not trying to slow down too much as he turned to start working his way down the other side of the meadow. If Amanda caught him brooding in his own thoughts then she might try to convince him again of why she doesn't have to go to college. Amanda acted like a goofball but she was very concerned about John and how he would cope without a look out. It was one of the reasons they moved to Maple Bay since it was close to a forest preserve and was a lot like John’s childhood stomping grounds. He needed to convince her that he would be just fine like he was all those centuries ago without her.

It was just so hard to think of an easy adjustment without her…

He was taking her advice and trying to find someone here who he could trust but it was a rough one. If John confided in the wrong person about his identity or got caught in his other form…

John slowed anyways as he approached the middle of the meadow. His thoughts drifted to that of his neighbors and their various reactions to who he really was hidden in the guise of a human. 

They would all run in fear of his towering form, of the burning red eyes on his horse and rider halves, and the black miasma that swirled around him like the plague. Craig disgusted that he was ever friends with him and disgust at himself for recommending John move into their neighborhood, bringing a monster down upon them all. Robert, regardless of his ‘cryptid hunter’ tendencies would shit himself, and realize he was way out of his league in the presence of a true ‘cryptid’ or would drunkenly try to take him down with him for the sake of everyone else in the cul-de-sac. There was a very, very slim chance that Damien might understand but there were limits to everyone’s bravery, especially for a man that was just acquaintances with John. He didn’t want to think about how sweet Mat, Brian, and Hugo would react…

Then there was the one guy John hoped would never be forced to encounter him in this form…

A loud, high-pitched whistle snapped John out of his daze; Amanda blew the whistle again for the second time, warning him of approaching humans as John started to panic. 

His heart pounded in his ears as he bounded away from the open field to the shelter of the treelines, laying his human half down backwards, and flat against the rump of his horse half’s back. John focused his vision through that of his horse half rather than the rider half he disabled, hoping that if anyone saw into the meadow that they would just see a ‘startled’ wild horse running from the whistle. He faked out many accidental spectators this way with Amanda providing him enough time to do so and was relieved as he entered the protection of the forest - hopefully fooling any witnesses.

The darkness was his veil as he slowed to a careful walk, the forest bright to his eyes in this form along with the outlines of the living giving off waves of fear. John was in a pseudo ‘hunting’ mode since he long forgotten how to use the full strength of his powers due to hardly ever getting the amount of energy required since he left Scotland. He was too far away from where he left his bag and Amanda to be able to see them with his sight but his fatherly instincts made him carefully stalk the forest to make sure Amanda would be alright. 

A trail hiker this late at night would be very unlikely but not out of the question since it was a nice, summer night. It was the scarier type of people who willingly wandered the woods that had John carefully navigating the ground to avoid leaves and stone to keep his hooves from making too much noise as he kept his ears sharp for any noises of distress from Amanda. While he could shift back to a human form in a heartbeat and move a lot quicker without the extra bulk of his natural form, John didn’t want to be naked and unarmed should things go south.

He kept his horse half’s head low to the ground as he drew closer to the sounds of people talking. Amanda’s voice was relatively easy to make out so he came to a halt and hid the best he could while in such a large form, thankful for the pitch blackness of his body in the darkened woods.

“Yeah! I’m just out here going for a walk!” Amanda happily lied through her teeth to whoever got curious enough to draw near. “My dad is a midnight mushroom hunter so we’re fine!”

Not very persuasive, Panda… Hopefully they’ll fall for it and leave or Amanda will grab his stuff and head over to where he disappeared in the treeline.

“Yeah! I’ll be fine! Enjoy your walk!” 

Okay. They lucked out. Just some late night trail hikers. Easy peasy.

John flicked his ear over toward the trail that was a good distance away and stayed absolutely still as he heard the crunching of the limestone gravel under the couple’s shoes when they walked back onto the path. He closed both pair of his eyes to hide their glowing redness, listening as the steps slowly went further and further up the path. Once he could barely hear the shifting of the gravel, he opened his eyes and started making his way back to camp now that his venting session would be cut short. John let out a sigh of relief from his horse portion since he kept the rider half immobile on his back and was relieved to find his towel still hanging from the branch as he came to a halt near the clearing.

He let all the miasma and his form melt off him in a cloud of black smoke, dropping back to the forest floor with ease in his human shell once more. John quickly raced to pull his clothing back on just in case the couple decided to come back and check on Amanda. Once his underwear, shorts, and shirt were back on, he pulled down his towel and laid it on the ground to take his time pulling his socks and shoes on. John could easily make an excuse for having his shoes and socks off by saying he didn't want to crush the mushrooms or some other bullshit reason. With his clothing all on and his shoes tied, John got up and folded the towel up before stuffing it into his bag.

“Manda! You okay?” He asked casually as he went around the tree to find his loyal lookout still surveying the area with her flashlight.

“Depends. You decent?” 

John laughed at that as he walked over and watched Amanda turn around, looking relieved that her father was dressed and ready to head back.

“Had me worried there for a bit, Dad. Wasn’t sure if they spotted you or not.” She sheepishly admitted as they started walking together back towards the bike path and back to the car.

John quirked a brow at his daughter as they walked side by side with Amanda’s flashlight illuminating the path. “Were you distracted by something?” He asked, wanting his daughter to be honest with him, especially when she was suppose to be watching his back.

She looked guilty at that and John found himself put an arm over her shoulder. “It’s fine. I know you miss the days where you used to ride along with me.”

Amanda perked up at that as she noticed that John had a huge smile on his face. “And throw your spear into tree branches for hours on end?” She snickered mischievously, making John remember their good ol’ impromptu jousting days. Those poor trees...

“Oh yeah. I remember all those times you got the spear stuck in a tree and I had to reach up for it with you on my shoulders. Those were definitely fun times.” John sarcastically spoke as he rolled his eyes.

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “We got it down everytime.”

“Plus or minus a trip to the hospital when you fell and broke an arm.”

“That was only twice, Dad. Besides, the view from your shoulders made for excellent inspiration. Photography would have never been my thing if not for those horse rides!” She chuckled fondly as they made it to the parking lot and she went around the car to the passenger side door.

John smiled when she pulled away to go to the passenger side and unlocked the door to the car before opening up the driver’s door. He tossed the bag into the back before climbing in and closing the door, making sure that he was buckled up before checking Amanda. He quirked a brow at the fact that her seat belt wasn’t fastened and crossed his arms over his chest to look over at her in a disapproving manner.

Amanda didn’t notice why the car wasn’t starting up until she glanced over from her phone to her dad. “Oh. Oops.” She then clicked her seatbelt into place with a smile and gave her dad a thumbs up. “Safe shield to not go through the windshield!”

“Roger that, Manda!” John laughed in agreement before putting his keys into the ignition to start up the car and start heading back to the house.

\--

John felt a lot better after getting some ‘exercise’ last night and accepted Joseph’s invitation to the barbeque he was having that night after putting off RSVPing the whole week. To make it up, John brought over some ribs from the grocery store and his jar of homemade BBQ sauce. Amanda sauntered along behind him as they entered the Christiansen’s backyard with a covered tray with the ribs and sauce in John’s hands. The party was in full swing with music playing from the speakers system, a long table filled with food, Joseph manning the grill with a cute blue apron, and the kids running about wildly while the adults chatted with drinks in their hands.

“Oh! Look who showed up to SHOW UP, eh?” Joseph chuckled as he waved his spatula in the air to greet John and Amanda.

“Hey, Mr. Christiansen!” Amanda laughed easily as she waved a hand towards Joseph. “Brought the ribs and sauce along! The fire on the grill isn’t the only thing that’s going to need a bucket of water when we get these sweet ribs on everyone’s plates!”

“Hey! You stole my one-liner, you thief!” John elbowed her in the side lightly as she playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

“Make some better ones if you don’t want the easy ones taken so quickly.” 

John rolled his eyes and watched her walk off to go get a plate at the food table as John headed over to Joseph to hand the tray over to his neighbor. “Hey. Sorry for ignoring your calls for the past few days.” He apologized sincerely as Joseph took the tray from his hands and put it on the table next to the other meat he was going to grill up.

“It’s fine, John. I’m happy that you look a lot better than you were and it’s no big deal if you’re here now.” Joseph smiled happily, genuinely pleased that John was feeling better even though he was oblivious to the cause. 

John felt his heart flutter at Joseph’s concern for him and brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “Yeah, it’s rough have a weak-ish immune system.” He chuckled, continuing to use that excuse for consistency to cover up the days where the misery of the community was too hard on his human form and try to work it off by shifting in their tiny basement. “Doctor said I should be fine and that I didn’t catch anything contagious.” John reassured his friend as he patted Joseph lightly on the shoulder before drawing his hand back.

Joseph seemed delighted by that news as he turned back to the grill to flip the burger patties and hot dogs he was working on. “Always good to hear, John. You don’t have to worry about us kicking you from parties, you know.” He reminded John with a chuckle as he closed the lid to the grill and set the spatula on the plate where the meat likely laid before being put on the grill. Joseph then opened up a smaller cooler he had near the grill and opened it, pulling out two bottles of light beer and handing one to John.

“Thank you.” John responded automatically as he took the beer and watched Joseph close up the cooler before taking the beer bottle opener offered to him afterwards. “I’m just so used to everyone misunderstanding my condition that it’s kind of reflex at this point to say that what I catch usually isn’t contagious.” He explained sheepishly as he popped the cap off his beer and handed the bottle cap opener back to Joseph so he could remove the cap off his own. “I know what it’s like, anyways - having that health paranoia when you have kids of your own.” John spoke empathetically as he took a sip from his beer.

Joseph nodded his head as he placed the bottle opener back on top of the cooler and took a thoughtful sip from his own bottle. “Well, we understand your situation better, so, don’t feel like you have to apologize or stay away if you’re not feeling too good, alright? Mary and I like having you around, and with Amanda set to leave in a few days we want you to know that we’re willing to help out if your immune system acts up.” He offered with a warm smile that had John genuinely feeling touched, especially when the Christiansens were churning out misery by the bucket loads to the point where being around them too much everyday would make him collapse.

The unseen miasma rolling of Joseph was rather light at the moment and John felt himself smiling when he saw Mary come out of the house through the deck sliding door. She had a wine glass in her hand but sported a smile on her own face as she spotted John, the miasma levels rather light in comparison to their more stressful days. Mary sauntered on over to them as she looked at John and greeted him with her own special way of showing relief.

“Looks like death was only playing ding dong ditch with you, Kid. Nice job on surviving another day.” She remarked with a smirk as she took a sip from her wine glass.

John felt himself laugh at her remark. “Someone has to keep Old Grim on his toes.”

Joseph was probably rolling his eyes at that, but oddly let the self-deprecatory remark slip by as Mary got a good chuckle out of it. They wouldn’t start a fight this early into festivities with how good their moods were unless something big set them off. John rather things just go smoothly so he won’t have to go back out to the forest reserve tomorrow if he could help it. He loved the Christiansen family dearly but it was way too easy to find himself bogged down passively by their internal troubles they think they’re hiding away under the surface.

Mary seemed satisfied with John’s response before looking him from head to toe, likely to see if he was trying to cover up being ill and brute-forcing his appearance at the party. “Good. Was getting kind of boring not having Johnny Shot-Glass coming to outdrink cocky college brats at the bar.” She grinned in amusement before turning to face the lawn where everyone else was hanging around. “Anyways, see you later maybe?”

“Maybe.” John smartly replied with a smile as Mary walked off to talk to Damien and Robert by the snack table. She wouldn’t get too offended if he opted to rest for another evening or so to get his body back up to full shape.

“Is it really smart to be drinking to excess when you’re immune system is rather frail?” Joseph asked curiously as he lifted up the grill lid, set his beer aside on the table to pick up his spatula and flip the burgers.

“Mary makes it seem like I’m chugging jaeger bombs every night, Joseph, but that’s honestly far from the truth.” John chuckled, watching Joseph switch out his spatula for tongs to rotate the hot dogs before setting them on the plate with the spatula and closing the lid. “I pretty much nurse two beers and just talk the whole night while I occasionally provide commentary on the Game.” He offered casually with a shrug.

“Alright. I’m sure you know your limit anyways.” Joseph smiled but it showed a hint of doubt since it didn’t reach his eyes like it usually did. “Anyways, how is the packing for Amanda’s big moving day coming?” He asked, smoothly changing the conversation.

“Fine…” John frowned before bringing his beer up to take a long drink from it. 

Was Joseph getting petty or did he genuinely want to know how it felt to have any semblance of a normal life counting down in the matter of days before he’s left to fend for himself? He couldn’t possibly understand how much he loved Amanda enough to let her live her own life at the expense of his own well being. How many years he struggled to come to terms that she was a person he loved dearly and deserved to have a life outside of babysitting him when he needed to shift.

He shook his head, not wanting to further sour his own mood. “Let me know when you’re ready to grill the ribs, I’m going to go bother someone else.” John joked lightly as he turned away from Joseph and headed down the steps of the deck, noticing the miasma thickening a bit around Joseph but knew he would pick right back up anyways. The guy was a social butterfly. A miserable social butterfly but a social butterfly, nonetheless. 

With his beer in hand, he noticed Robert chatting about some ridiculous tale to Mary and curiousity got the better of John as he walked over casually to the group. Everyone seemed caught up in Robert’s tall tale except for Amanda, who seemed alarmed at John approaching and tried to wave him away from the group. Was Robert talking about sex or something? What could honestly be so bad that Amanda was trying to turn him away?

“So, these kids come into the bar last night and, I shit you not, they said they saw a shadow out in the meadows by the forest preserve! A four-legged giant beast with black smoke whirling ominously around them with red eyes that glared at them!” Robert remarks with a chuckle before taking a sip out of the beer bottle provided by one of the other days, likely Joseph. 

Oh.

Shit.

John could feel himself sweating bullets under the collar of his shirt as he wondered if he could turn and walk away without arousing suspicion. Amanda tried so hard to warn him as well.

While Robert continued to talk vague details about the ‘black horse’ the couple told him, Amanda took out her phone and pointed down to it after taking a huge step backwards from the crowd. John took a step back as well and started having a back and forth with Amanda on their phones.

Amanda: Looks like I couldn’t keep you from walking into that. Sorry, Pops.

John: We talking the whole ‘i got distracted and let people see you prancing in the field as a pony’ or the conversation Robert is having about said-self prancing in the fields and getting caught? :)

Amanda: Urgh. Dad, I feel really bad about this whole thing! Don’t act like it’s not a big deal to you!

John: It’s just a rumor. Even if Robert starts staking out the place I’ll just trot around in the basement for an hour every day to keep the tension from building up too much. 

Amanda: But… You always said that five minutes in the field was better than fours hours in the basement.

John could feel how genuinely upset Amanda was from all of this and knew that it would strain their relationship if he tried to brush it off anymore.

John: I guess we could go back to mounting cardboard and blankets over my rider half and make a somewhat convincing saddle for you to sit on. I think I still have the bridle and reins packed away in the basement.

Amanda: Then we have to come up for a cover story on why I’m riding a horse with red eyes in the middle of the night, much less where I got said horse from. As cool as it would be to say that I have a demon horse again, I don’t think it’s very healthy to pin down your rider half under my weight and the blankets.

John: I realize it’s awkward as hell as well but it better than moving away from a place I love because a rumor is being spread about my real form, Panda…

John looked up and saw Amanda sigh heavily as she brought a hand up to run through her hair. Poor girl didn’t deserve this kind of stress days before she was going to leave me to my own devices. Maybe bringing up the whole ‘you can be my rider’ thing was a terrible idea in hindsight. Who else would be the ‘rider’ when she was gone to college?

Amanda looked up at me mid text through the opening in the crowd around Robert and I tried to give her a reassuring smile; let her know that I understood how she felt. I mouthed ‘I love you’ to her in the most sincerest way possible and that seemed to lift her spirits a little bit.

Amanda: We’ll talk about this later, but, I love you too, Pops.

John: I promise. Now go enjoy the party with the kids and let your dadtron 3000 get some friendship points in peace, alright? :)

Amanda: Ha ha! Good luck, Dad!

With that said, Amanda saluted to John playfully with her tongue out before tucking her phone away to go hang out with the kids. What a trooper John raised. It was hard to believe there was a long period of time where he lived without a consistent person in his life. He had grow so much fonder of humans and human life raising his little girl as a single dad. While he may fear what was to come in the future without her being around, John knows that she’ll come to visit once and awhile along with calling him.

He can get his shit together. John has done it all of his life, after all.


	2. BBQ That Rib!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the outpour of interest in the first chapter of the fic! I was so worried that no one would read it since the monster i'm using is very obscure but you guys proved me otherwise!
> 
> I hope it was because I described what a nuckelavee was in the tags and put that wikipedia clip in the chapter notes to help fill you guys in, but it seems like everyone just sort of feel in love with how Dadsona is and his interactions with everyone (especially Amanda).
> 
> This chapter brings out the more romantic pining elements dadsona has with the Christiansens and I'll be updating the tags a bit to reflect it!

Most of the conversation around the ‘demon horse’ thing got side-lined as Joseph brought out the plate of cooked burger patties (some with cheese melted on top) and hot dogs, placing it on the snack table by the bags of corresponding buns while everyone lined up. Joseph was pleased as punch to see the line of hungry adults and children queuing up before he remembered he had an announcement to make.

“Everyone! John brought some ribs and his homemade barbeque sauce to the party as well! If you want some, we’ll be slapping the racks onto the grill and will have them ready lickety split!” Joseph happily spoke, John feeling his cheeks redden under the approving smiles of some of the adults and felt very flattered when some of them, notably Mary and Robert, walked out of the queue.

Mary had a smirk on her face as she walked over with Robert and Joseph to John. “You gonna show Joseph how to make a mean rack of ribs, Johnny? Knock his ego down a peg or two?”

Joseph chuckled at that light quip. “It’s just been a good few years since I’ve had requests for ribs at a cookout. I’m sure I’ll remember how to do it properly with a little guidance.”

“How much lava are we talking for the home sauce, John?” Robert asked with a lopsided grin.

John was smiling from ear-to-ear bashfully as he brought a hand up to rub at the back of his flushed neck. He wasn’t used to being the object of many people’s attention much less treated as a pseudo rival to the grill king named Joseph. It was a lot of fun as John felt his anxieties slip away for a moment as he proudly motioned for the trio to follow him onto the deck. “I’ll answer any and all questions while cooking! Can’t let eager stomach stay unfilled for too long, after all!” John laughed happily.

They followed John like less suicidal lemmings to the deck where the ribs awaited. John rolled up his sleeves like a conductor before his orchestra as Robert and Mary leaned back against the wall of the house behind him. Joseph untied his apron and held the strings delicately pinched between his index fingers and thumbs. He cleared his throat to capture John’s attention, apparently going along with the sophisticated ‘chef prep’ thing John had going.

“Monsieur, may I be as so bold as to tie your frontal splash guard apparatus on?” Joseph offered with his best French butler impression.

John resisted breaking character to laugh at Joseph playing along with him before clearing his own throat. “Indeed! See to it! Chop chop!” He haughtily responded in his own snobby high-class voice as he clapped his hands impatiently together and turned around to give Joseph his back.

“Oui oui, Monsieur!” 

John had to nip down on his lower lip to keep his serious persona up as Joseph threw the apron over him like it was a bib on a messy toddler before crisply getting to work on tying up the strings on his back to secure it. Joseph was even intentionally throwing in some terrible ‘hon hon’s' to try to make John crack while Robert wasn't doing John any favors by giggling at the whole ordeal. 

“I see London, I see France, I see Johnny getting ass.” Mary snickered playfully, less about her husband assisting John and more to continue the whole running joke.

John felt his face flushing red and huffed as he tipped his nose upwards towards Mary’s joke. “How uncouth!” He gasped in mock offense before moving to the covered tray of ribs with the silliest ‘snob’ walk he could manage, Joseph moving along with him from the extra scuffing noises on the deck. Poor Robert was a wheezing mess from all of this.

“Okay. Let’s give Robert some air, Joseph. Let’s put our snobbery away for a bit since it is too powerful for mere mortals to witness.” John smiled as he turned to look at Joseph before glancing over at Mary pouting into the rim of her wine glass in the background while Robert was still trying to get his lungs to function properly.

John couldn't remember neighbours in the past that he got along with so well that it felt so natural to be a goofball around them without fear of being laughed at. Mary liked to pretend to be judging John’s antics but she always had a smile in her eyes and the miasma she emitted lightened enough that John could tell that she genuinely liked him being around. Things were always better for their little quartet when she was enjoying herself; Robert, and especially Joseph, seemed to let loose a little more in these rare moments when they could just forget for a moment about how miserable they all were. 

It was strange that John went from a nightmare incarnate in his youth to humans to a person who wants to be happy and share that with everyone around him. To remember how many people he trampled to death and drove his spear through as he fought to the teeth against human hunters. To remember his hatred of humans and the pleasure he took in killing them…

John focused on explaining to Joseph about the art of cooking ribs instead of his ugly past, finding this to be cathartic as he removed the covering on the tray and pick up the mason jar with the homemade sauce inside. He twisted the top off with a pop before setting it down and picking up his sauce brush he brought along as John started explaining the art of spreading the sauce onto the meat after using the tongs to place the rack of ribs on the grill. 

“Now, because it’s the first time anyone here has had a taste of my BBQ sauce, I think it would be appropriate to just do two layers instead of my usual three.” John declared conceitedly with a smirk on his lips, especially when Mary booed at him from the peanut gallery.

“Huh. It's this easy?” Joseph asked as he watched John close the grill lid and place the sauce brush on the plate where the tongs and spatula sat before loosely placing the lid back on the mason jar.

“I make it look easy, Joseph. It's making the sauce that’s the hard part.” 

Joseph smiled at that. “You think you could teach me sometime? I’ve been thinking about getting into making sauces and jams and it would be great to have an experienced teacher.”

John was grinning happily at the offer. “Sure thing! I have years of experience under my belt with picking seasoning and making fun combinations that taste excellent! Even Craig subscribes to the veggie dip I make him once a week for the twins!” He proudly bragged, earning an impressed whistle from Joseph on top of it.

“Even Craig? Seriously? I didn't know we had a god amongst men in this cul-de-sac.” Joseph chuckled fondly, making John’s heart flutter once more at such a nice compliment. In reality, the guy had no idea how close to the mark he was with that observation though. John definitely ain’t a god but he has lived a very long, long time to probably give him some sort of prestigious title for a demon.

John could feel a smile lift on his face when Mat stepped up on the deck and headed over with his own infectious grin plastered on his face. “Hey! I heard there were some sweet ribs being served up over here. Scarfed down an amazing burger but I could kill for those ribs Joseph was hyping up.”

“Get in line, Romeo, you got an army to go through first.” Mary grinned as Robert smoothly patted the side of the house for Mat to slot himself up against. 

The crowd of spectators grew ever so steadily due to the curiosity of the homemade rib sauce and the line that was already present. Did Joseph really hype John’s food up that much? He certainly can’t remember anything remarkable said other than Joseph saying ‘hey! John is making ribs, kay?’ while Mat and Mary made it seem like he put out a professional commercial for the dinner hour.

John glanced over at Joseph and saw that knowing grin on his face that said ‘let’s put on a show for them’ and let Joseph guide him over a short distance from the peanut gallery as they started swapping ideas back and forth. Joseph decided to start first.

“Okay, so, we already did the ‘snooty nobleman’ act and a repeat just for Mat’s sakes would probably lose us some points with Mary unless we get Robert to pee his pants or something. What do you think?” He whispered quietly to John as John kept a sharp eye on the wall-huggers to make sure they stay put.

“Dunno. It’s a huge risk to push all of our luck on a skit to get Robert to pee himself. ‘Sides, he’s wearing black jeans tonight and his shirt is hanging pretty low… He has plenty of outs this time, José.” John whispered back to Joseph, enjoying the way his face wrinkles up as he puts on an incredulous smile.

“You little snot-rag. You’re eyeing up some other guy behind my back?” He snickered in mock offense, getting John to cover his mouth with his hand as he tries to keep his giggling to a minimum to not attract further scrutiny to their conversation.

John brought his free hand up and patted Joseph several times on the shoulder in quick succession while he tried to not wheeze at his best friend’s quips. “Joseph. Joseph, I need you to focus, Man. We got t-minus five minutes before Mary comes over and drags us by the ear to make us spill our guts and that WILL require her putting that wine glass down. Don’t ruin my friendship with her over this.” He mock begged with his hands pressed together in front of himself as both he and Joseph had tears forming in the corners of their eyes from how hard they wanted to laugh together.

He definitely might not believe in God like Joseph does but… God, John loved the way Joseph smiled and fooled around with him so effortlessly together like this. John had a great relationship with Mary that also borderlined on a crush with her, but, he would literally take up his spear to protect the Christiansen family and their darling, yet eccentric, children as well. He was always so happy to be around them even if it did make him physically ill when he climbed into bed at night when they tried to get through a hard day with his help. It meant a lot to John to have these moments with them and he would gladly keep his heart on lockdown if it meant that they would keep allowing John into their lives before he would inevitably have to move away.

After he pushed that depressing thought out of his mind, Joseph and John settled on a new performance; ‘The Song and Dance of A Grandfather’s Dream’. They somehow incorporated the grill and adding on another layer of sauce onto the ribs into the mix but it felt more like a fever dream than anything else. All and all it made for a fun story and everyone in the growing line along the wall got to have some ribs while Joseph and John stayed in character passing the goods out.

With the line of hungry lions fed, Joseph splits the remaining ribs between John and himself then closes the lid to the grill as they picked a spot on the wall to lean back against while they ate. Joseph hummed in approval as he pulled the succulent meat off the bone he held in one hand while the other held a paper plate of ribs and some tossed salad on the side. Their beers sat on the table next to the plate with the spatula and tongs on it along with the tray John brought from home. John felt his face heat up when Joseph grabbed John’s beer on accident to take a sip from it, likely mistaking it for his own.

“The ribs are fantastic, John! You really did a great job!”

John chuckled bashfully at that as he picked up Joseph’s beer and took a sip from it casually. “Well, I had a great partner helping me kill the time and entertain the crowd. Couldn’t do it without you, Joseph.” He smiled.

Joseph looked genuinely touched at that and had on one of his sweeter smiles that always seemed to melt John’s heart the more he took in the little features of his face. How his blue eyes seem filled with joy and the way his eyebrow does that thing that only happened when Joseph wore his emotions on his sleeves. The way the miasma seems to barely trickle out from his body as Joseph was aware of how at ease he was, and John found it all the more flattering that he managed to bring some form of comfort to his best friend. 

John wants to take a step forward and hold him in his arms; bathe with Joseph in the light he allows to shine on his conflicted soul. More than that, he wants to show him the beauty that is the night and that the company that misery attracts can help make life more fulfilling. To take Joseph out and have them ride together even if it’s just on rented horses to keep John’s secret hidden that much longer. Maybe Mary could come with too and enjoy the nighttime summer air with them. 

Joseph looked off to the side with a warm flush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears for a moment before he looked back over at John. “You see something you like?” He asked sheepishly and John felt himself nearly melt into the ground.

“We talking about food or something else, Champ?” John winked playfully, Joseph laughing wonderfully at that as he seemed to relax a bit more.

“Well, I was wondering if you would like to maybe hangout sometime? Mary might not mind if the activity is worthwhile.” He added with a smile, knowing how much John also liked spending time with Mary and possibly trying to find a middle ground where they could all hang out together. 

“Yes! I would love that!” John responded with enthusiasm. “A date with both of my friends? Sign me right up!”

Mary seemed to hear the word ‘date’ and ‘friends’ from where she chatted with Damien on the lawn and glanced over to John and Joseph’s direction on deck. Sharp as a whistle, that sweet lady! John raised his hand and waved at her, making Joseph glance over in her direction as well; the perfect combination to make Mary curious enough to apologize to Damien before she headed over in their direction. Joseph and John fist bumped without even looking at each other as Mary climbed the deck steps and sauntered over to the pair with her brow raised skeptically.

“Something you need, Gentleman and Husband?” She asked.

John took note that the miasma that flowed off her form was a tad bit thicker than it was earlier but it was a good sign that she somewhat enjoyed the mood of the party. “You think you would be up for an adult date sometime this week?” He asked with a smile on his face.

Mary smirked in amusement over the rim of her wine glass as she took a sip. “‘Adult date’? That’s a strange word combination you have there, Kid, but count me curious. Who’s in and what’s the activity?”

Yes! Smooth going so far!

“Well, I want to treat you and Joseph to a fun time! We haven’t gotten to the activity discussion yet but I knew I wanted both of you with me!” John spoke honestly, hoping that having Joseph around wouldn’t be the dealbreaker for Mary.

Mary’s smile faded but she seemed to be considering things as she swirled the wine in her glass. Joseph was probably trying to seem as non-threatening as possible and just focus on eating his food than trying to persuade Mary with a smile as she glanced over occasionally at her husband. John was slowly starting to have doubts about the whole thing until Mary looked over at him with an amused smirk. 

“You and I can swap ideas on the date then. I’m sure Joseph will be fine with whatever we settle on, right, Dear?” 

Joseph nodded his head at that before swallowing the salad he was eating. “Sounds good.”

Hallelujah! A breakthrough compromise has been made!

“Right, so, what are your ideas, Johnny? Lay them on me.” Mary challenged playfully.

“Sure! My first idea was a beach day-”

“Nope.” Mary cutted in.

John seemed a bit surprised by that immediate rejection but continued to list off his ideas anyways.

“Ballroom dancing?”

“Nah. No fun if I have to keep rotating partners while you guys get breaks.”

“Community cooking class?”

Mary rolled her eyes at that and John knew better than to ask for clarification.

“Horseback riding?” He asked, unaware of the slight bit of pleading he had in his voice until both Joseph and Mary quirked at brow at him.

“You know how to ride a horse, Johnny?” Mary asked curiously.

“There are horse riding facilities around here?” Joseph added.

John felt his mood brighten up considerably after he spent a good moment observing their miasma levels and saw no extreme fluctuations. He loved having this little ‘cheat’ feature even though it was in no way meant to be used to positively socialize with humans in this manner. “Yes and yes to both of your questions. The Peterride farm is where Amanda and I volunteer at on the weekends! The owner and I are good friends so I’m sure I can ask if we can take the horses out on the trails or just stay in the fenced in riding area if this is your first time riding horses!”

Mary seemed genuinely intrigued as she sipped on her wine and glanced over at Joseph for a moment before Joseph seemed to understand her gaze.

“We’ll see when we have some free time and a babysitter or two before getting back to you on that, John. I never would have thought you liked horses.” Joseph smiled, seeming very happy to have learned this tidbit about John.

“I thought you said that Amanda got over her horse phase?” Mary chipped in, Joseph looking confused as he looked from Mary to John.

“Shhh!” John scrambled over to Mary but thought twice about even jokingly putting his hand over her mouth to silence her and instead pressed his index finger to his own lips to get his point across. His eyes darted over to Amanda, who was hanging out with Daisy and playing ghost truckers again, and sighed in relief as he looked back at an amused Mary. “You said you wouldn’t say anything.”

“Oops.” She smirks as she bring her free hand up to her lips to try to hide it.

John put his hand mockingly over his heart as if she had just shot him. “Et tu, Marreh?”

Joseph giggled at that as he finished up eating the ribs on his plate, watching them both fool around with a relaxed grin. 

“Anyways, that aside, Amanda and I always enjoyed volunteering at farms and stables. Don’t even get me started if they have cows cause I will put on my rubber boots and haul ass right out into the field to pet me some cows. Not bulls though. I’ll leave that to the professional cow cuddlers.” John smiled with a lopsided grin as he set down his beer to fetch his phone out of his pocket. “Peterride’s doesn’t have cows but the place we volunteered at before moving to Maple Bay had some even if we did have to drive an hour back and forth to get there.” He spoke as he unlocked his phone with one hand and opened up his phone gallery to show Mary the cute cows.

“Wow. You used to be a cowboy in your previous life, Johnny?” Mary teased lightly but still watched as John swiped through the pictures of Amanda and himself posing with the cows and petting them.

John chuckled at the quip to play along regardless if he’s lived several centuries worth of ‘previous lives’ and it wasn’t too far from the morbid truth if humans counted as cattle. Joseph scooted over and ate his salad as he watched the slideshow. It was endearing to see Joseph and Mary take genuine interest in his hobby in their own unique ways with Mary making sarcastic remarks about John once and awhile versus Joseph flat out cooing softly when he saw pictures of John or Amanda looking super cute with the animals.

He knew he had to drag these two to an actual farm someday even if he had to lug wine boxes around in his bag all day to help Mary tolerate the unpleasant smells and sights. John would probably turn into a puddle if he saw Mary or Joseph cuddle with a cow though. He was really weak with just Amanda doing the cuddling much less the two he pinned after…

“So, how long have you ridden horses, Champ?” Mary asked curiously before taking a sip from her glass.

John hummed at that for a moment. “Basically my whole life? Always enjoyed trail riding but never got into the competitive showy stuff.” He offered, basically being honest without telling them both the whole truth about the nuckelavee-thing.

“So, you’re more of an outdoorsy kind of guy then?” Joseph asked after he finished up his salad and dumped the plate into the garbage can provided on the deck. “Would never have thought that with how often you like staying indoors.” He teased playfully before picking up his (John’s) beer to finish drinking it and then put it into the recycling garbage can he also had on the deck.

John huffed at that. “The outdoors isn’t as interesting when there isn’t an incentive to dealing with the grueling sun.”

“But there is when there’s cute cows, horses, and neighbors, huh?” Mary smirked before finishing off her glass of wine.

John felt his face flush from being hit dead center by the ever-sharp Mary Christiansen. “I can’t help that I’m weak to friends and cute animals!” He practically whined, making Joseph and Mary chuckle with him but not at him.

Mary glanced down and noticed her wine glass was empty before giving John a knowing look. “Tank's empty, time to refuel. Be sure to show Robert and Damien your pictures too, Kid.” She spoke before turning, with a smile lifting her lips for the briefest of moments, and headed back into the house. 

John felt himself smile in return for that rare moment as he waved sheepishly before Joseph lightly elbowed him in the side. He felt his smile turn into a full out grin as Joseph playfully smirked at John in a knowing manner.

“Careful there, Cowboy. She’s cute but she’ll buck you right off if you try to go in for a hug like in your cuddle gallery.” He snickered, making John elbow Joseph right back.

“I’m pretty sure she’ll hug you indirectly if there’s a cow in between for you both to cuddle. Don’t mock the power of the cute cow eyes, Christiansen.” John teased in return, enjoying the fact that Joseph was considering the idea rather than assuming it was a jab at their strained relationship.

“You think she’ll really perk up if we go horseback riding?” He asked, genuinely interested in John’s opinion since he had been there to help Joseph out with the kids if Mary had a bad day and needed to rest.

“Maybe. It’s not realistically going to fix everything but what is important is that it’s a first step towards making a visible effort to bond with her again.”

Joseph frowned at that before looking at John. “It was a hypothetical question since I know we- That I have to be more proactive in trying to fix things between us. I just don’t want you to think you’re a third wheel when you’re asking us both to spend time with you.” He admitted sincerely, putting a hand on John’s shoulder and giving it a little squeeze before retracting his hand. 

John felt himself swallow down the warmth blossoming in his chest, trying not to seem as touched by Joseph’s words than he actually was. Joseph wanted to just enjoy John and Mary’s companionship on the date rather than use it solely as a springboard to get back in Mary’s good favor. It meant a lot to John to hear it from Joseph’s own mouth even though John didn’t originally think that the latter could be the end result. As much as his mind wanted to say that Joseph was basically implying he was interested in John romantically, he knew better than to say or act on anything. He loved them both too much to act on either when things were rough between the two. 

John won’t be a homewrecker.

With that said, John smiled and handed Joseph his phone so he could continue flipping through the pictures while John ate his food and provided commentary to his best friend when any particularly interesting photo came up. John did eventually take his phone and relocate to Damien to show off the pictures like Mary suggested he do. Damien found the images to be endearing and Robert didn’t need much persuasion to head over to see the cute for himself.

All in all, John found the party to be a success in his playbook. He managed to make Robert wheeze out his right lung, get the Christiansens to think about going on a date with him, and scored huge points with his ribs with pretty much anyone willing to try it. Amanda and John headed home with their items they brought over, both of them looking at the other with a knowing grin.

John went to bed after washing up the tray and the sauce brush then making sure the lid of the sauce jar was secure before putting it in the refrigerator. He was proud of making jams, sauces, and the like, finding food to be the quickest way to open up conversations with people he did not know. It was a comforting hobby he took up two hundred years ago when he genuinely wanted to start living life as a human and exchanged his helmet to a witch for the training. Trading his helmet, basically his whole built up identity as a nuckelavee, for critical life skills along with the secrets to jaring.

While it seemed like an unfair trade to a younger John, the witch was correct in that all of her teachings would make adjusting to human life that much more easier. It was very hard giving up his hard-earned infamy and the power that goes with it but it was worth it. 

He closed the door to the jar-packed fridge and happy changed into his pyjamas when he got into his room before settling in to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for all the loving feedback on the first chapter! Please do tell me if you liked the second chapter and what exactly you liked about it. I'm a bit nervous about having Dadsona having a crush on Mary too but the main romance will still be with Joseph with a bit of polyamory with Mary on the side. Hopefully it won't push too many of you away, I just really like Mary and think she deserves happiness too.


	3. Horse Dad and Human Daughter

John was busy putting together Craig’s health dip in the kitchen three days later when Mary gave him a call. He answered the call and wedged the phone against his cheek and shoulder as he continued to stir the base of the dip in the bowl in one arm. John was covered in organic filler on his hands and arms but was pretty happy as Amanda worked on some kim chi on the opposing counter, wanting to stock up on her favorites before she would head to college tomorrow. 

“Hey, Mary.”

“Hey, Johnny. What’cha up to?” She asked with a pleasant hum, the sound of their kids and Joseph talking in the background.

“Making Craig’s dip for the week. Manda is working on some jars she wants to take to school with her since they have a mini fridge. She’s bummed that she has to take the tiny jars of jam instead of the usual ones she’s used to seeing in the fridge.” He chuckled, feeling Amanda kick him lightly on the back of his leg with her bare foot in retaliation.

“That’s good to hear. Hey, I heard from a little birdie that a certain Christiansen couple might have a cleared schedule and a pair of babysitters lined up for a certain jar-filling fanatic…” She suggestively teased, making John light up in excitement.

“No way.”

“Yes way.” Mary chuckled. “I get the nicest horse though.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it being any other way, Mary.” He snickered. “Also, no, I’m not giving Joseph the rambunctious one.”

“What are you talking about?” Mary asked in mock offense. “I was going to suggest he ride on an animal that fits his personality…”

John knew where this was going. “Mary. No.”

“What? Donkeys are cute. Aren’t they kids?” 

John groaned as he set the mixing bowl down on the counter and started adding the next set of ingredients while the Christiansen children obliviously answered ‘yes’ to their mother’s question. 

Goddamn it, Mary Christiansen.

“Anyways, Joseph and I have thursday and friday open. Pick your poison, Johnny Boy.”

John rolled his eyes but went over to check the calendar on the fridge to see which day had the least amount of jar orders he had to fill for this week. Today was tuesday and he had four orders to fill today, including Craig’s, then he was just going to make one tomorrow since Amanda would be leaving and he wouldn’t be in the mood to work… “How about Thursday?” It would give him plenty of time to convince the owner of Peterride’s to let him take three horses out for an hour or so and make some items for a picnic.

“Sounds good to me, Kid. Let us know what time you want us to pick you up for our ‘adult date’.”

“... You’re really mean, you know that?” John whined softly, drawing a laugh from Mary on the other side of the line.

“Catch you later, Johnny. Joseph will probably pop on by later with a care package from us for Amanda so don’t get scared if a strange pastel-wearing man appears at your door.”

John snickered in amusement at her description of Joseph. “I dunno, Mary. I might need an adult in this stressful situation.”

“Oh shut up. Johnny Shot-Glass wouldn’t back down from a challenge.” She teased lightly in return.

“Johnny Shot-Glass is usually drunk out of his wits at that point, Mary. You seem to keep forgetting that little tidbit.” He snickered before remembering that he needed to relay some actual useful information. “So, on Thursday, I recommend you guys wear pants and some clothing you wouldn't mind getting dirty, including shoes.”

“I figured as much but thanks for the reminder. See ya later, Kid.”

“Bye, Mary.” John spoke before hanging up the phone and placing it back in his pocket.

“So…” Amanda started as she leaned back against the counter, watching John turn around with the mixing bowl in his arm while he churned the ingredients in the bowl with a wooden spoon. She had an amused smirk on her lips and her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded her father critically. “Is it considered ‘cheating’ if you have a crush on both the husband and the wife, Pops?”

John’s face flushed up lightly as his eyes widened at Amanda in shock. “Ex-CUSE me?!”

Amanda seemed even more emboldened by his reaction as she smirked at him. “Wait. That would mean you actually DOING something about your crush on the Christiansens. My bad, Old Man.” She teased playfully as John’s face continued to heat up.

John pursed his lips together into pout as he looked away from his daughter. “I’m not old…” He grumbled quietly.

“One, that’s a bald-faced lie, Mr. Nuckelavee. And two, you’re trying to dodge the subject.” Amanda firmly declared, not giving her father wiggle room on the matter. “Why not have a mature conversation with Christiansens-”

John held his hand up to cut her off and gave her a strained look. “Amanda. Sweetie. What part of ‘the Christiansens live and breath the Bible’ sounds like they would be cool with having an open marriage?”

Amanda frowned at that. “So, you do like both of them like that?” She asked empathetically, making John sigh lightly as he brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck in thought.

“Yeah.” 

“Dad…” 

“It’s like any other crush that I’ve gotten over in the past, Panda.” John spoke, more as a reminder to himself than Amanda. “Also, Joseph is coming over with a going away present for you. You think you could be cool and-”

“‘Not talk about this whole thing?’ Sure, but, know that I really worry for you, Pops. I thought Joseph and Mary might be understanding if you told them about your secret…” She mumbled sheepishly as if he would get upset at her expressing her feelings.

John felt a small smile lift the corners of his lips as he set down his bowl and spoon. He then walked over and leaned against the counter with her before lightly ruffling Amanda’s hair. “If I had a chance of living in a world like you imagine then I could probably be ‘horse dad’ all day without igniting an angry mob or getting the government on my ass, Manda. I kind of like how things are right now though, even if it’s not ideal.”

Amanda giggled as she pushed his hand out of her hair, perking up a little bit at John opening up to her. “Right, you wouldn't need a car if you could horse around all day.”

“Cars drive faster than I can gallop, Sweet Pea. Also, trunk space is limited on a horse’s rump and would require several trips to the grocery store instead of one.”

“Yeah, but, you don't get tired in that form like humans do and could probably get more MPG than the buggy in the garage.”

John gasped in offense at that as he leaned away from his daughter. “I love that car, thank you very much!”

Amanda sarcastically rolled her eyes before the doorbell rang, signalling Joseph’s arrival and a temporary end to their conversation. John smiled and held his index finger up as she snickered in amusement at him slipping away. 

“One moment. I will not have you trash talking my car and think you’ll get out of this that easy, Young Lady.” He mockingly glared at her as he shook his finger at her in disapproval.

“Sure thing, Pops. Go get the door already.” She grinned in amusement as he moved out of the kitchen when the doorbell rang again.

“Coming! Coming!” John shouted to no one in particular as he made his way through the living room to the front door, unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open to see a smiling Joseph with a rather large decorated box wrapped in cellophane with a purple ribbon holding it together at the top. “Joseph! What a surprise!” John grinned as he regarded his neighbor and then the package in the man’s hands. “Oh? You got me a present? I didn't think anyone remembered my birthday!” He teased playfully, expecting Joseph to go along with it until the man smile fell right off his face, his skin going pale, and panic seizing Joseph’s handsome features.

Joseph swallowed hard at that and quickly moved the present away from John’s hands when he went to receive the gift. “I… uh… it’s your birthday today?” He asked sincerely, all of his usual composure lost in an amazingly short amount of time. 

John chuckled nervously at his friend’s horrifyingly serious reaction. “Joseph, I was pulling your leg. It’s not my birthday or anything.” He explained before reaching to place a reassuring hand on the blonde’s shoulder. 

“R-right…” Joseph replied, glancing back up at John rather sheepishly with a slight flush dusting his cheeks. “... When is your birthday, by the way?”

John felt like melting under how bashful Joseph was and wanted to hug him or something to express this sharp pent up glee in his chest. 

“February tenth.” He answered instead, his heart racing happily in his chest.

“Okay.” Joseph smoothly recovered, looking completely composed with that question answered. “Dodged a bullet with that one.” He chuckled in amusement to cover up that embarrassing scene. Joseph realized he was still holding the gift and rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. “Right! Amanda’s gift!” Joseph held it out with both hands as John felt himself relax at the offering of the gift.

John carefully took the present with a smile. “Don't sweat it, Joseph. She’ll probably eat it all tonight though.” He laughed.

Joseph seemed relieved at the reassurance. “Maybe I should drop by tomorrow with a new batch then?” He winked playfully as they both chuckled.

“Nah, but thanks for the offer anyways. I’ll see you and Mary on Thursday?”

“Yep. Knock on wood.” He smiled before turning to walk back to his house, John closing the door with a smile still on his face as he locked it.

Amanda then walked over to him with a huge smile on her face as she eyed the wrapped up box filled with baked goodies in his hands. “Oh! It looks so good! You might just have to hide it from me so I won’t scarf it all down tonight.”

John rolled his eyes sarcastically at that. “I don’t think they’ll even make it to dinner with your sweet tooth, Panda.” He teased before handing over the box to her.

“Rude. True but, rude.” She huffed playfully while she walked away with her goods in her arms.

John sighed and followed her back into the kitchen to finish up Craig’s order before he was scheduled to come pick it up then start making dinner. It ended up being a huge mess to clean up but Amanda turned on the radio so that rock music played in the background while they sang and cleaned. Dinner was delicious, even if it was from a box. Their last dinner together before she would leave in the morning.

\--

Amanda seemed pale the next morning when John came into the kitchen to find her sitting at the table with her eyes struggling to stay open. Dad instincts kicked in at the unusual sight and he moved on over to pull up a chair and sit down at the table with her instead of immediately making breakfast. He was going to take her to the airport in the afternoon so there wasn't too much of a rush to figure out what was wrong on this eventful morning for Amanda.

“Want waffles, Panda?” John offered with a smile, wanting to try a gradual process to bring Amanda out of her shell and talk.

“Mhm.” 

He moved to get up before a hand quickly came down on the ones John had on the table. Amanda looked at him pleadingly and that was all John needed to sit back down. John still wore a patient smile on his face as he looked at his exhausted daughter. She having trouble sleeping due to moving anxiety?

“You want waffles but not right now?” He asked for clarification and Amanda nodded her head, looking embarrassed by how needy she felt regardless if John was in the mood to oblige her.

“Thanks.” Amanda sniffled before rubbing at her eyes with her hands.

John felt bad for his daughter. Whatever it was that kept her up wasn't worth the trouble but he wasn't the one who got to decide that. He couldn't stop her mind from thinking unpleasant thoughts but he was here to help her cope and give her advice.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?” 

“Do you really not dream?”

John paused at that before frowning. Great, she couldn't sleep because of him again. It was just like Amanda was ten years old again and he didn't think his heart can take another repeat of those rough few months where she worried for him day and night.

“There are plenty of adults who don't dream when they sleep, Panda.” He answered patiently. “My quality of life doesn't suffer any bit from its absence.”

Amanda looked visibly upset as she brought her hands up to rub more persistently at her eyes to hide the fact that she wanted to cry like a kid. John just wanted her to feel better and maybe get a few more hours of sleep before they leave.

“You’re not like ‘everyone else’, Pops. If I’m not here then how will I know that you aren't suffering? Dad, I just can’t leave!” She sobbed as she hide herself behind her hands. 

John brought his chair around so he was sitting next to her and pulled her into his embrace quietly. Miasma flooded out from his beloved daughter as she let her wound be uncovered; that Amanda never really stopped being that ten year old that was afraid for his life and pleaded in her room for her father to be safe the next day. The revelation made John sick with worry and hold onto her tighter.

“What about Scotland…?” Amanda asked as she buried her face into John’s shoulder and hugged him tightly.

“What about it, Amanda?” He asked patiently, wanting her to keep talking to him.

“Would you be safer there?”

He felt his stomach sink at that. “No. No, it wouldn't be, Manda. The world has lost much of its safe zones for magic and beings who once ruled those lands like I did. It was bad enough that I had to leave Scotland in the first place and that was… Ha. A reaaally long time ago.” John chuckled softly, gently stroking Amanda’s soft hair with his hand.

Amanda sniffled as she nodded her head but took comfort in being able to bury her face in his shoulder and cry like she did when she was a kid. He knew he had to say more to reassure her that he would be alright and do a much better job of it than he did eight years ago. John fucked up somehow and Amanda just got good at hiding her discomfort with how the world interacts, or potentially would react to John. It was all coming to a head; a weapon he couldn't deflect or tank without leaving lasting damage for both of them.

“Tell me more about Scotland and your early years in America… You were always so vague.” She spoke hesitantly and he leaned down to kiss her head.

“Sure. Wanna move to the couch and grab a blanket while I make us some hot chocolate? I need something in my stomach if I’m gonna tell you about my youthful misadventures.”

Amanda pulled away from him, tears still running down her cheeks as she rubbed at her eyes again. She got up and headed for the couch in the living room while John headed to the kitchen to make hot chocolate mix with milk in two mugs before sticking them in the microwave. He then went to the pantry to pull out some bagels, cutting them into halves before popping the four parts into the toaster and setting it to a heat that would produce light-brown toasted bagels. Amanda may not have asked for food but John was gonna give her a bagel with some cream cheese to eat and would gladly take her portion if she really wasn’t hungry. After everything was creamed up and sandwiched together on a small pair of plates and the hot chocolate mugs stuffed with marshmallows, John placed them on a tray and carried them over to the living room where Amanda was swaddled up in her huge horse blanket that John folded and draped over the couch for decoration.

He placed the tray down on the coffee table and pulled it closer to the couch so Amanda wouldn’t have to bend over too much out of her cocoon to get at the goods. She went for the bagel first, much to John’s relief, and started to munch down eagerly at it. John sat down next to her on the couch before picking his mug up and sipping on it slowly as he reclined back against the cushions. The sun was only starting to rise and he knew Craig would be over in an hour or so before they would go out running together on the beach. He let that thought pass before looking back at Amanda and smiled happily as he continue to eat without pause.

“I love you so much, Dad.” Amanda murmured as she flopped over with her head on John’s shoulder, continuing to eat her bagel when her father craned his head awkwardly to kiss her on the head.

“I love you too, Panda.”

“... Even if I’m not a fae like you are?”

John chuckled softly at that as he rested his mug on his lap. “‘Fae’, ‘demon’, ‘nuckelavee’, what I am to you does not change unlike my designation label in mythology, right? I’ll always be your father no matter what the occult scholars say.”

Amanda nodded her head as she snuggled up closer to her dad’s side. “Can you tell me the story about why you adopted me in the first place? I mean, you have the official adoption documents so I clearly wasn’t some first born child stolen away from some a family that got tricked or owed you a debt.” She chuckled softly, making John’s heart warm at hearing her relax.

“Mhm. I was never into that whole ‘fair folk’ thing. I was an unapologetic terrorist of the Scottish coastline for a good century or two before I had to leave so I had no time to swindle children from their toothless folks.” He explained with a smile. “I couldn’t really find the strength to continue terrorizing humans after my long journey across the sea to the states. Everyone was miserable enough so I learned I could get my energy without having to lift a finger on my part.”

Amanda blinked at that as she looked at her father. “Wait. You traveled with humans on a voyage?! I thought you ran across the surface of the water or something!”

John lightly shrugged his shoulder at that. “The fair folk wanted to leave the islands as well, you know. Wanted to find a new place to start up so I pulled in some favors to get a family of powerful faes to consistently use glamour magic on my body to make me pass for a normal horse. If the boat happened to capsize during a storm or get attacked by pirates, I promised to carry them on my back the rest of the way to land. Walking on water is no big deal when the seas are calm to a sea-born creature like myself but large waves are very taxing to leap over when carrying precious lives on my back. We got lucky and made it to America alive without major incidents.” He explained to Amanda.

Amanda seemed captivated by the story as she looked at John with wide eyes, making John smile happily that he brought out that childish curiosity in his daughter once more. “Did you stay with the fae family for a while, Dad?”

He nodded his head at that. “Indeed. My first wife was the eldest daughter of that family and we had three non-nuckelavee offspring together before she passed on from old age a century later. Also, no, fae are not ‘Tinkerbelle’-small fairies like you are probably thinking.” John added quickly but Amanda still pulled away in horror.

“You banged a chick with your horse don-”

“AMANDA!!!!” John practically screamed as he covered his face with one hand while keeping the other on the mug. “No! My rider half-”

“I DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT!” Amanda screamed in disgust as they were both visibly cringing from the whole shocking conversation. “That explains why you have an armor flap over your groin. I always thought it was a bit excessive-”

“Can we please stop talking about my genitalia…?” John practically whined miserably as he buried his beet red face into his palm. Amanda seemed to lighten up at that with a chuckle and patted her father’s shoulder.

“Roger dodger, Pops! I’ll forget this traumatizing conversation ever happen!”

John sighed in relief at that as he let his hand fall away from his face. “Thank you, Sweetie. Anyways, we were talking about why I adopted you, right?”

“Mhm!”

“Alright. It was about seventeen years ago that I felt adjusted enough to society to do more than just file taxes and handle complicated adult conversations with lawyers. I wanted to have someone to love but I couldn’t handle the dating scene so confidently. Instead, since I had plenty of money hiding around from my centuries of living and changing names/social security numbers, I adopted a child.”

“Oh my god, Dad. You are NOT admitting to both tax evasion AND social security fraud, are you?” Amanda laughed out loud as John sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand.

“It’s hard enough to live as a fae here, much less as a legal American citizen…” He chuckled nervously. “Also, ‘do as I say and not as I do’?”

Amanda snickered and hand waved her father’s concerns. “I getcha, Pops. I’ll stay on the straight and narrow for the both of us. No need to worry about your daughter committing federal offenses.”

John brought a hand to his chest and sighed in mocking relief. “Oh good. I didn’t raise my daughter to be a total hooligan like myself after all.”

They both got a good chuckle at that and chatted happily together as they drank their hot chocolate and ate their bagel. Amanda eventually felt good enough to go upstairs and rest for a few hours while John had to tough it out with a belly full of gooey marshmallow, hot chocolate, and a bagel when Craig came over to do their usual morning run together. He just about puked everything out at the end of the run from how hard Craig wanted to go today with their pace and that was beyond embarrassing for John since he was basically a horse able to outpace any human in his normal form.

The things he did for love…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for continuing to show support for this fic, Guys! It means the world to me to read your excited reviews and helps keep me motivated to produce more content featuring NuckelDad! 
> 
> Please tell me your thoughts on the story so far! Any little bit is always super helpful and not bothersome at all!


	4. A Dark Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9-2-17 patch notes: 
> 
> \- TOTALLY FORGOT THE FIRST PART OF THE MORNING FOR THE FIC! JUST ADDED IT! (several paragraphs worth of hilarity and John running in booty shorts!!)
> 
> -Fixed several contextual errors.
> 
> -Fixed the paragraph spacing issues.
> 
> -Fixed several odd-sounding sentences and typos.
> 
> -removed a paragraph that caused a continuity error (there are no cows on the farm and I forgot.)

As lonely as he felt last night from Amanda officially being gone from his life, John had to admit it was nice that Robert and Mary came to take him out to dinner at a diner to just chat and drink lightly before heading out to the bar. Mary was insistent that John ease up on the alcohol and kept continually buying him a sea of fries to munch on that Robert and Mary also took advantage of. John guessed it was because of the date tomorrow and noticed that Mary was opting for lighter alcoholic beverages that night as well. Robert ended up teasing both of them over it but quickly shut his mouth after Mary pulled the plate of fries away when he went to reach for another. 

John kind of expected himself to get stupidly drunk that night with them but the alternative was rather nice when he woke up feeling quite energized for the day. He slipped out of bed and found himself actually making it for once in his life before heading downstairs to fix himself breakfast. Amanda wasn't here anymore but she did promise to call him more often than not along with sending him texts to check up on him.

He made a large omelette with diced ham and veggies, only putting a quarter of it on his plate and the lid back on the pan to keep the rest warm with the stove top off. With a glass of ice water, a fork, knife, and plate in hand, John pulled out a chair at the table by hooking his foot around the leg of the chair to pull it out since both of his hands were preoccupied. After taking a seat, John set down the plate with silverware on it and his glass to start munch down before Craig came over in thirty minutes for their morning run. Just a little something in his stomach before he ran since he couldn't stand the protein drinks Craig let him sample from his many varieties. He tried so many times but couldn't get past the satisfaction of chewing something when eating.

His mind drifted pleasantly to Mary and Joseph as he enjoyed his deliciously fluffy meal slowly. Of how excited he was to have both of them come along and enjoy some bonding over horses with a delightful picnic to finish it off! His heart was fluttering blissfully in his chest and John was very much aware of the goofy grin he was likely sporting as he continued to eat his food. He imagined Mary and Joseph looking like movie stars on the horses as John turned to look back at them, the scene slowing dramatically while a gentle breeze blows through their hair. Mary sporting a smile as she brings up her hand to brush the stray length of hair behind her ear and Joseph grinning like he heard a genuinely good joke off to the side. Both of them would then turn their gaze to John and smile sweetly at him, if he was so bold to imagine such a scenario.

John cleaned up his plate and hurried to get up, his cheeks flushed pink as he lightly slapped them with his hands to get his stupid grin off his face. He left his plate and stuff on the table since he would be eating once he got back from his run, and went upstairs to get changed into his running gear. John felt particularly confident today and opted for a pair of what Amanda called ‘booty shorts’. He had a nice pair of legs (for a horse guy?) and wanted to show them off from time to time, especially when no one else was up at crack of dawn. 

He pulled on a blue pair that had no obscene text on the ass portion and a plain white T-shirt along with socks. John then moved over to his vanity mirror and made sure he looked decent while also taking the time to reconsider his attire, if need be. While he usually wasn't confident enough to show off his assets, especially with the ever impressionable Amanda around all the time, but he wanted to try it now. Craig would probably get a good laugh out of it, if anything else, and he’d vow to never wear them again. 

No big deal.

John heard the doorbell ring and took a deep breath before looking at himself once more in the mirror to see if he was really okay with going out like this.

Yes. Yes, he was.

With a newfound confidence, John made his way out of his room and down the stairs right when Craig rang the doorbell for the second time. John’s running shoes were on the small shoe rack by the front door and he went to pull them on.

“I’m putting my shoes on!” John yelled to Craig on the other side of the door and he laced one shoe up.

“Gotcha, Bro!” Craig’s muffled voice replied while John started lacing up his right and final shoe before getting up, testing them to make sure he didn't tie them too tightly before unlocking the door.

Craig was there and dressed for a run, as always, when John opened the door and slipped out. He didn't bother to gauge Craig’s opinion as he locked his front door and tucked the key into his pants pocket before zipping it up. John wasn't going to chicken out and just act like it was no big deal until he heard glass shatter ominously over the fence. He and Craig reflexively looked over with concern at the noise’s source and found Joseph Christiansen flustered as he gathered a garbage bag filled with shattered glass off the ground. John felt his face go beet red and his courage suddenly betray him as he quickly went back to the door only to have Craig loop his arm around John’s.

“You alright, Joseph?” Craig asked casually as he practically dragged John down the walkway with ease. Damned hidden muscle freak! 

“Y-Yeah!” Joseph stuttered as he grabbed the lid of the recycling bin and placed the rattling garbage bag into the bin, his gaze focused solely on the bin even after he closed it. “Just tripped! Happens to the best of us!” He chuckled sheepishly.

“I forgot to pee, Craig!” John whispered desperately to his college buddy and Craig gave him a look before releasing John’s arm.

“Should have said something, Bro. I thought you were chickening out on our run.” 

“I’m sorry, I’ll be right back!” John apologized and quickly bolted back up the walkway, glancing back over the fence to see Joseph suddenly advert his eyes as he headed back to his house and just so happened to take his phone out of his pocket to check a message on his phone. His heart was pounding in his chest. Was Joseph checking him out?!

John quickly pulled out his key from his pocket and unlocked the door, closing it behind him as he pondered what he should do in the few minutes Craig would give him before he would come looking. He decided to actually go pee least he jinx himself and have to go on their run. Craig would totally make an ‘old man bladder’ joke at his expense and John did not want to do the alternative of explaining his crush on Joseph either.

He scrambled to the bathroom and began relieving himself, feeling a lot better even if he didn't have much more to pee after going when he got up. Decompression in any form was always good, right?

But, yeah… Joseph saw him in booty shorts and didn't laugh or cover his mouth to try to conceal it to be polite…

He was gonna tell Mary. No way he wouldn't.

John face was burning as he tried to not seem pleased with the situation as he flushed the toilet and washed up. Mary would laugh but it wouldn't be at John trying something new. She would probably find Craig dragging him away from his door like a stubborn dog on a leash hilarious though and he would have to admit that it probably was in hindsight. With that, John felt his confidence come back since it was no big deal when he looked at it like that. He left the bathroom and back to the front door, opening it to see Craig waiting on the front step.

“Oh! I was about to come get you, Bro!” He smiled, very pleased that John came back out of the house without prompt.

John sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he stepped out and once more locked the door before tucking the key back into his zipper pocket. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Ready to go?” He asked with a spring in his step as he and Craig started making their way down the walkway together.

“Always ready, Johnny One-Two!” Craig laughed at his friend’s enthusiasm for their run.

“‘Johnny One-Two’? More like ‘Johnny Two-Four Through My Door’!!” 

John froze up mid-step and sharply turned his head towards the Christiansens’ house to see Mary standing on the front step and making exaggerated wolf whistles in John’s direction. Joseph was poking his head through the front door and probably trying to convince her to come back in and to stop trying to wake up the whole neighborhood. Craig bursted out laughing at how ridiculous and unexpected this whole thing was while John was red from the tips of his ears to his shoulders from embarrassment as Mary continued to make cat calls at him. ‘Embarrassed’? More like flattered to hell and back to the point where his brain stopped functioning.

“Mary! No!” John practically pleaded to her as his mind still struggled with either denouncing her teasing antics for the sake of neighborhood peace or let this continue and do something to try to rope Joseph into it as well but that has the risk of backfiring spectacularly… 

“Mary, yes!!” She defiantly cackled back to John, putting a lopsided smile on his face as he found it impossible to assume that she was being anything but enthusiastically supportive of him since she didn't put energy into anything she didn't want to.

He brought a hand up and ran it through his hair sheepishly before waving back at her meekly now that she eased up with the whistling. “Have a nice morning, You Two!” John laughed back before roping around behind Craig to lightly push him forward, jogging in place to get Craig back into the mood for their run and taking off with him once he was finished laughing. Joseph probably rolled his eyes at them as Mary waved back but managed a little wave of his own in return before Mary willingly went back into the house with her husband to start the day in the Christiansen household. 

Craig didn't say anything as they started a light jog to warm up as they made their way out of the cul-de-sac on the sidewalk. The sun was warm and felt good on their back as John observed there to be little cloud coverage at the moment, a good sign of good weather for later in the day? He smiled and knocked his knuckles against the fence they jogged by to ward off a bad jinx.

“Bro!” Craig laughed happily as he lightly elbowed John to get his attention. “You’re a total beast today! Totally great vibes to run to, right?” He smiled, encouraging John rather than laughing at him for trying something new.

John perked up happily at his encouragement. “I won’t make it a habit, wearing the shorts, I mean.” He chuckled softly as they crossed the street to start jogging on the road to head towards the docks for their beach front run. “I didn't expect them to react like that, you know.”

“Really? I never know when you orchestrate something with Joseph and Mary. You guys are on a different wavelength at times. You should do improv together!” Craig grinned, making John laugh lightly at that suggestion.

“I don't know any good Christian comedy clubs, Craig. We might not have an audience for the kind of humor Joseph subscribes to!”

They got a good chuckle out of that quip before turning on the sidewalk to head down the limestone gravel bike path that led to the docks for small boats to launch from. There was plenty of wild shrubs and the like on either side of the bike path along with a thin covering of trees that made John feel more at ease running here but not like the comfort he felt being in the forest preserve. Still, it was better than nothing and he loved the way his legs burned after running on the sandy beach every morning.

“So, how is the business going? Make any rad new jams or dips I might need to know about?” Craig chuckled as they sped up to a normal jogging pace.

“Was thinking of expanding into soup stock for the past few weeks.” 

Craig perked up at that. “Really?”

John shrugged his shoulders casually at his friend’s reaction. “Yeah, but you know it takes me quite a bit to get a basic recipe down before working on a lighter variation.”

“Whaaaat? Lame, Bro.” Craig pouted. “I’d still be up for taste testing and giving you feedback on the regular recipe though!”

John chuckled in amusement at that as he quirked a brow at Craig playfully. “You sure? Not gonna be the healthiest thing on the planet, Buddy.”

“Taste testing does not involve eating a gallon of soup for each variation, Bro, and you know it!” He laughed, making John smile as the gravel turned to the wooden boardwalk before they went down the steps to the actual beach.

The sun was amazing when viewed from the beach in the early morning hours, the lack of people on it made it easy to just run continually in one direction without having to swerve around a kid with a bucket in hand. John felt so good feeling the salty breeze on his tongue with each breath, his runner’s high kicking in as he and Craig ramped up the pace to really get their legs going. The light splashing of the waves against the sand and the gulls on the wind the only noises other than their own breaths.

Perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

John worked eagerly at putting together a great lunch for his date after coming back from his run to finish off his omelet and then take a shower. He decided that anything he would not have to heat up would be best as he decided to focus on cold cut subs for the main part of the meal. 

Stepping right up to the kitchen counter after flipping the radio on, John laid out a large, whole grain, wheat loaf of bread that he bought yesterday with his grocery trip. He placed a portion of the loaf on his cutting board and measuring out eight inches, excluding the ends, each for the three of them. It might not be the freshest of bread but he made sure he sufficiently wrapped the loaf up the previous night so it would not get stall and retain its inner fluffiness. John moved his bread knife to split the center of the bread and set it aside as he started to open containers of turkey to lay out in many filling stacks. He then covered the cutting board that had the sliced bread on it with saran wrap before taking out hearts of romaine lettuce to start peeling and washing the leafs off in the sink. 

John laid them all out on a towel he used especially for drying produce before dicing up the useable remains of the romaine hearts on a secondary cutting board then storing them in a tupperware container for later meals. Being a Nuckelavee, and a horse by extension, he was more inclined to hold onto any useable parts of vegetables and fruits even if Amanda gave him a weird, judging look when he ate the entirety of an apple minus the stem. John would never do it in front of guests but Amanda knew that John’s stomach could tolerate a lot of things and didn’t have such a limited outlook on food. It was why he enjoyed making jams, soups, and all sorts of dips! She would usually eat whatever he would put into his jars anyways when he wasn’t looking anyways.

He moved on to wash the tomatoes he had stored in the fridge from his garden, that encompassed a huge portion of the backyard. They were perfect and plump for the occasion, worthy to fill their bellies as he started to evenly slice them on the cutting board and laying them out on the drying towel to whisk some of the excess moisture off before he would lay them on the sandwiches. John made sure to flip the romaine lettuce leaves to let the other side dry off before then grabbing some other vegetables he had observed the Christiansens eating on their own sandwiches when he came over to help with ‘crowd control’ of the kids with Amanda. He knew Mary adored black olive slices on her sandwich while Joseph was a banana pepper-kind of guy.

Easy enough. He just needed to be mindful of his seasoning along with a light amount of dressing to keep everything pleasantly moist without going too crazy as he started pulling it all together on the sandwiches. When he was finished with all three of their stuffed subs, John pushed a cooking toothpick through the center of each sandwich to hold it all together before wrapping them all up in tin foil and placing them into individually labeled tupperware containers. He then placed the containers into the fridge for safe keeping before getting to work on making a batch of homemade chips after cleaning up his mess from the sandwiches. 

It’s been awhile since John booted up the crisper but he figured it would be worth the extra mile to see the satisfied smiles on the Christiansens’ faces to dig into homemade chips as well. He filled it with the proper cooking oil before turning it on to let it heat up while he got to work on washing and dicing up the potatoes he had in the pantry. His plan was to let the chips only be seasoned with only a hint of salt so as to not overwhelm their palates along with the hefty sandwiches but amp up the crispness to really bring out that satisfying crunch instead. A meal was a sensation of the senses, after all, and crispiness covered quite a few the sandwiches wouldn’t. Add in the small boxes of chilled wine he planned to pack into his medium-sized cooler and John had the making of an excellent lunch!

Once everything was done and the three batches of chips had time to lay out and dry/cool on a cooking sheet spread out on the counter, John went to work on cleaning up before taking on last quick shower. He wanted to take the time to groom himself and clean up nicely after that two minute shower he took when he got home from his run. Shave whatever he needed and trimmed what was overgrown even though he knew this was just something casual. With his hair tied up in a towel, John made his way over to his dresser in his room to start sorting through his clothes to look for a decent-looking outfit for their riding date that was appropriate.

Would a cowboy look be too off-putting? He has the hat and a red-white plaid shirt he could use…

John hummed as he rolled on some deodorant under his arms and went to pull on the plaid shirt and a pair of jeans that were in decent condition for riding. He stood in front of the vanity mirror and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt so they were above his elbows, showing off his forearms. John turned back and forth as he looked himself over critically, even going as far as to flex in hammy muscle man poses. He ended up settling for the outfit and dug out his cowboy hat before going back into the bathroom to finish drying his hair and shave.

With thirty minutes left to spare, John went downstairs and dug out his cooler to fill it with the thin, reusable ice packs and stacked the tupperware into it along with the wine and the bags of chips neat laid on top before he closed it. He left the cooler by the front door with his riding boots and went looking for his spare adult ponchos in case it started raining. John was incredibly energized at this point as the minutes continued to tick down to when the Christiansens would arrive with their van to head out for adventure. His heart was pounding in his chest as he made sure he went to the bathroom and grabbed three water bottles from the refrigerator to be extra careful before the doorbell finally rang. John quickly put his hat on his head and made sure it looked right in the bathroom mirror before flicking off the light, patting his pocket to make sure his phone and house keys were accounted for. He then scooped up the water bottles in his arms and headed right for the front door, taking a deep breath to calm himself before he unlocked and pulled it open.

John felt like he was witnessing a dream when he saw Mary and Joseph Christiansen standing at his door in figure-appealing jeans, boots and t-shirts with cute horse silhouettes on them to match. Mary had her hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing a visor, sporting an amused smile on her face as she reached up to take off her sun glasses. Joseph sported a simple baseball cap on his head that read ‘dad’ in huge letters and had a wonderful smile on his face as he regarded John’s appearance at the door.

“Well, now. We going to a rodeo or a horse trail ride, Johnny?” Mary grinned as she took two of the water bottle John held out for her and tossed the second casually to Joseph. They were both in such great moods right now that the misery that usually rolled off both of them in droves was now just barely a wisp. “Also, thanks for the refreshment. Need Joseph to carry anything for you to the car?” She asked as she gestured with her thumb over her shoulder to the van running on John’s driveway, the trunk popped open in anticipation.

John smiled and turned back inside of his house to grab the cooler. Joseph stepped up and politely took it from him with a grin, their fingers brushing oh so slightly together that John felt his throat tighten a bit from the contact. Did Joseph just wink at him before he turned to head over to the van like he was some mischievous prince charming? John kept that thought to himself as he went to grab his riding boots and the folded up panchos that were inside of them before he could continue to think on that line of thought. 

“Ooo. Nice boots.” Mary complimented as John set them down for a moment to pull his front door closed and take out his keys to lock it up. “Looks like they’ve been used a lot over the years.”

John chuckled at that as he tucked his keys back into his pocket and scooped his boots back up into his arms before he and Mary made their way down the path to the driveway where Joseph was waiting for them by the back of the car. “Yeah, I did mention that I volunteer a lot at farms and such, right? It would make sense that my riding boots would have a bit of history to them.”

“Huh. Here I thought you were just pulling my leg, Kid.” Mary teased as she lightly elbowed him in the side.

John placed his boots in the back of the van next to his cooler before the three of them headed around as the trunk door automatically lowered itself into place and locked securely. “Wow. That’s mean. What did I do to deserve such harassment from my favorite drinking buddy?” John laughed as he opened the sliding door to the back passenger seats and climbed in while Joseph got into the driver’s seat and Mary went into the front passenger one. He pulled the door closed with a firm slam before he buckled himself in as Joseph set the GPS built into the dash for the stable’s address after he and Mary buckled in.

“I’m not harassing you, Johnny Boy. I’m just questioning your hobbies.” She cackled teasingly as Joseph pulled the car out of park and backed out of the driveway.

John put a hand to his chest in mock shock as he gasped at her teasing. “Joseph, you’re just going to let her push me around like that?”

Joseph barked out a laugh at that as they made their way out of the cul-de-sac. “Oh, please, it’s hardly the worst situation to find yourself in. Unless she starts pulling on your cheek insistently. Now, THAT’S the worst- ow!” He laughed as Mary lightly punched his shoulder.

“Watch it, Smart Ass.” She warned playfully as she jabbed a finger in warning at Joseph.

“Not if you don’t want to end up in the ditch before we even get on the highway, Mary!” He laughed before she jabbed him in the side to make him squirm. Mary pulled away with a smug grin on her face before she returned to facing forward in her seat while Joseph jokingly whimpered at her ‘bullying’.

“Mary, please don’t batter the driver, he has a point.” John joined in with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“You’re never usually this much of a stick in the mud, Johnny Shot-Glass.”

“I don’t want to die, Mary!”

Joseph snickered quietly at that as he brought a hand to up to muffle the sound. John found the whole thing adorable to the max as they left the neighborhood. Mary seemed so relaxed and playful today while Joseph was rather carefree at the moment as he turned on the car radio to play a relaxing Jimmy Buffet CD. The song ‘Cheese Burgers in Paradise’ got Mary into a singing mood that even John felt inclined to join in the merriment as well. The chorus was catchy as all hell even though this was his first time hearing it! They were all practically yelling the lyrics ‘Cheese Burgers in paradise!’ with such bravado that the couple in the next car over at the stoplight was actually staring at them. Joseph’s face went bright red as he realized he had the windows rolled down and Mary laughed her ass off as he rolled his window up with his lips pursed firmly together in humiliation.

“Repeat!” John yelled as he pumped his fist in the air from his seat. “Repeat!”

“W-What?!” Joseph stuttered before Mary clapped her hands together as she continued laughing.

“Encore, Joseph! Encore!” Mary agreed in excitement. “One more time for our burger boy in the back!” She proclaimed before tapping on the ‘back’ button twice to get ‘Cheese Burgers in Paradise’ to play once more. 

Joseph sighed in exasperation at that but quickly perked up as the light turned green and he let his foot of the break to continue their journey. Maple Bay started to vanish off into the distance the further they drove away from the city to the more rural and hilly outskirts where the stable was at. Mary’s ponytail fluttered in the breeze as she rested on arm on the window, her hand ‘surfing’ on the wind as Jimmy Buffett continued to play in the background long after the fun of the cheese burger novelty died down a bit. Joseph even got the nerve to roll down his own window once more as John eyed the greenery that rushed past them. 

Amanda thought his life would be more convenient if he could just be a ‘horse’ all day, huh? Clearly not from his point of view if he could have days like this where he could be with the people he dearly enjoyed being around versus the alternative of having no friends at all…

“So, what’s the deal with you and horses, John?” Joseph asked as he flicked the turn signal on and began turning left onto another road. “You grow up on a farm or something?”

“No, my father enjoyed horseback riding and I spent a lot of my weekends going with him to volunteer at a stable. We even had our own horse we kept there that we would ride together once we finished up saturday morning chores.” He explained with a smile, a lie he had gotten so used to telling that it flowed all to naturally from his lips. “It just doesn’t feel right if I don’t go to a barn or stable every weekend, you know?”

“Yeah, I know what that feeling of habit is like too.” Joseph replied. “I’m glad that we have this chance to get to know this side of you, John.”

John chuckled at that. “I’m happy to share my enjoyment of trail riding with you two as well, Joseph. Speaking of which, how much experience do you guys have around horses? I don’t think I ever asked.”

Joseph chuckled nervously at that as he brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “Not a lot, actually.”

“Well, we have taken the kids on a pony ride before but we never exactly rode them ourselves.” Mary added helpfully.

“Ah. then you’re both very much beginners.” John spoke with a reassuring smile. “I’ll be sure to help you both out so the transition from ground to horse is as smooth as possible.”

Joseph and Mary seemed to sigh in relief in synchronization which John found to be rather impressive.

“It’s really not that bad, you guys. I promise.” He laughed, trying to help relax his friends as Joseph made a turn right onto the gravel driveway that lead up to the stable parking lot. “Oh! We're here!”

“You sure we can’t seat three people on one horse?” Joseph asked before Mary snickered and jokingly slapped his shoulder.

“Joseph! I thought you were the one always worried about appearances.”

“Yeah, but, falling off a horse is embarrassing enough to take that chance, Mary.” He practically whined as he put the van in park along the fence next to the other cars and took the keys out of the ignition.

“You’ll be fine, Joseph.” John reassured as he unbuckled his belt and leaned forward to put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “I got your six.”

Joseph turned in his seat to look at John with a relieved smile before he nodded his head in agreement. “Alright. Let’s do it then.” He grinned before unbuckling his own belt and getting out of the car with Mary and John not that far behind.

John closed the sliding door to the van to head back to the open trunk to take a seat beside his riding shoes and removed the folded up ponchos inside of them to distribute to Mary and Joseph. They took them with slight confusion as John started removing his shoes to put on his riding ones. Joseph looked around at the sky above them, critical as to the scarce cloud coverage on an otherwise perfect August day. 

“I don’t remember there being a high chance for rain today.” Mary remarked as she looked at the thin, folded up square that was the plastic rain poncho before tucking it into her back pocket.

“Never take chances when out on the trail, my dear Mary!” John wisely replied before placing his shoes on floor of the trunk and pushing off to land on the gravel driveway. He moved over to where Joseph and Mary were standing as Joseph pressed a button on his car remote to lower the trunk door then locked up the car in general. Joseph then tucked the keys and the poncho into his own back pockets. The trio then walked together as they approached the stable where the owner, Augustus, waiting for them outside of the building against the wall before he got up and walked over to them with a smile. “Augustus!” John called out happily to his friend.

“John! It’s great to see you drop by!” He greeted John warmly, giving him a half hug before pulling away and offering his hand to Joseph and Mary. “These must be your friends you were telling me about on the phone! It’s good to meet you two. I’m Augustus Peterride, owner of Peterride Farms and Stable!”

Joseph stepped up first and took Augustus’ hand to give it a firm shake. “I’m Joseph Christiansen and this is my wife, Mary Christiansen.” He introduced himself before pulling away and letting Mary introduce herself as well.

“Mary Christiansen. Charmed.” She smiled before removing her hand from Augustus’ own.

Augustus beamed happily at that before waving at the trio to follow him. “As the owner and a good friend of John, here, I would like to give you a short tour of the stables and farm before I send you off.”

John smiled in approval, knowing that this was the trade off for a last minute favor by subjecting the Christiansens to a tour of the place in order to attract them back as paying customers. He felt bad keeping them in the dark about it but he figured they were smart enough cookies to catch on without dragging out the process. It was never a bad idea to get a lay of the land anyways, right?

Augustus went through a more abridged version of the tour, thankfully, and told them bits and pieces about the property’s history along with the stand out horses that had been bred here in the past. Mary and Joseph didn’t seem to mind the smells of the barn at all after a moment of adjusting as they entered the stable, then again, they should all be used to far worse smells since they were all parents, right? John smiled to himself at that as he walked behind the Christiansens and acknowledged each horse as it turned around to face the aisle, sensing that John had arrived.

Horses, like dogs and cats, still had their keen abilities to sense the supernatural even after the magical realm was all but powerless against human technological superiority. They knew John was something to pay attention to but lack of exposure to the true nature of supernatural beings made them curious rather than fearful. It was why John could still hang around domesticated animals or even spend time at the stables without the animals going berserk when he came around. He brought his hand up and gently ran it over each of the horses’ muzzles on the left side so he wouldn't fall too far behind. Besides, these were likely to be the horses they would use since the rest were either resting or were in used for the riding lessons.

When their tour came to an end, Augustus led them back to the stables where there were three horses all saddled up and ready to go by the mounting stairs in the corral. Things were going to be easier than he thought as a volunteer led Mary and Joseph to the steps to allow them to practically sit down into the saddle without having to mount while John simply just mounted his own with ease. 

Violet, a black mare, was John’s horse, ironically enough. Mary’s horse was a laid back palomino stallion named ‘Rancher’ and Joseph’s a prancy little painted mare named ‘Gazelle’. It was a good team of beginner’s horses, minus John’s since he was a much more experienced rider and could handle a slightly more temperamental horse. With a quick explanation of rules and expectations of the horses, John brought Violet around and the other two horses followed his own as they were trained to do. Mary whistled from the back at how John handled his horse and got them into into single line formation even though it was easy as pie to do for him. He felt his cheeks flush at that while they headed out the gate as one of the volunteers held it open for them and made a nice slow pace as he took them onto the well-worn trail path the horses have been on many, many times before with little deviation. 

“Look at Johnny, Joseph! A natural-born leader of the equine species in the flesh! Looks like he wasn’t lying after all!” She laughed as John let his horse autopilot the trail through the forest while he turned and tipped his hat in her direction.

“Ma’am, I reckon yer faith in me is quite lackin’.” John drawled, making Joseph smile in amusement directly behind him while Mary flat out grinned in response.

“Oh, don’t you start with the fake accent, ‘Partner’!” 

“Why not? It got ya’ll smilin’, right? I reckon I’m doin’ somethin’ right.” John snickered in response.

Mary groan mockingly at at. “Joseph, throw a shoe or something at him.”

Now Joseph was the one chuckling. “You offering, Mary?” He asked as he turned on the saddle to look back at her for a moment.

“Wow. What a gentleman. Making a woman throw her shoe instead of offering his own.” She snickered sarcastically in amusement.

John felt happier than he had been all week, glad to have Joseph and Mary’s companionship for a few hours now that his nest was officially empty at home. Amanda had plans to call him later in the evening to get the details on the date so it wasn't like she just stopped communicating with him like he originally feared. He felt warmth blossom in his chest at the thought of this actually happening, that they were trail riding together on a beautiful day, and not a threatening cloud in the sky.

The further they went through the forest, the more John felt aware of everything around him; How the sunlight breaking through the leaves left breath-taking patches of shadow and light on his friends and their horses, how the crickets and birds chirped to remind him of how much life was active all around them. The warm breeze drifting through the woods and keeping the humidity at bay - John felt his heart soar as they finally stepped out into the countryside with its massive rolling hills and tall grasses flowing romantically in the breeze. 

“Wow.” Joseph breathed in amazement as their horses finally came out into the clearing.

Mary let out an impressed whistle as her horse shook its mane out.

“See? It's not so hard to see why trail riding is the best, right?” John asked with a grin on his face as he looked over his shoulder back at Mary and Joseph.

“I’m pretty sure it would be more fun to ride at full speed rather than a slow walk on a path, right?” Mary teased playfully, making John pout in a hurt manner at her barb.

“Yeah, right. You think I would be trusted to lend out horses to some scrub riders and expect them not to hurt their legs or lose control over them if they got overwhelmed?” He laughed before giving Mary a reassuring smile to let her know he wasn’t intentionally being mean. “Nah. I’m kidding. If these horses were mine then I wouldn’t mind giving you guys riding lessons out here but I got rules to follow since they’re not.”

Joseph chuckled in amusement at that and hand waved John’s apology. “It’s fine, John! Just giving us the opportunity to go trail riding is enough for me. A horse is so much larger and more muscular than what I thought it would be!” He remarked in amazement as he leaned forward in his saddle to gently pat his horse’s neck affectionately.

John absentmindedly wondered how both of their hands would feel touching his horse half’s face and neck so gently. He wasn’t going to be jealous of another horse getting Joseph’s admiration but he did feel slight flickers of the ugly emotion before feeling a snicker come from his own mouth at how absurd it all was. John let out a sigh that took the stupid feeling away before nodding his head in agreement with Joseph statement. “It’s hard to believe how unfamiliar these past generations are with horses after centuries of relying on them so heavily, huh? I mean, just your reactions right now say a lot, not that it’s a bad thing at all that technology can make life more accessible to many more people.”

Mary smirked in amusement at John’s rambling. “I was wondering when the history lesson portion of the ride would come up.”

“Mary, please.” Joseph laughed in a rather sweet way even though he was slightly chiding Mary.

“It’s not so much as a lesson or part of a crazy agenda, it's just an observation I’ve made throughout the years.” John clarified with a smile.

“Kind of like the evolution of computers and cellphones, right, Johnny?” Mary added.

John nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, but, society seemed to hold onto its bond with the horse especially in farming communities more rigidly tied to tradition or cultures that have limited means to acquire technology where they live. It’s all subjective, of course.” He added as a disclaimer since he couldn't exactly list every single deviation from that norm without boring or potentially offending his two companions.

Mary seemed amused at his remark while Joseph’s face held a smile but there was a curious amount of miasma drifting off his form. John wasn't exactly sure what he said to raise Joseph’s ‘misery index’, as Amanda called it, but had a feeling that it might have to do with how compassionate of a person Joseph was. He didn't imply that those communities were worse off from not being technologically advanced but he could understand someone as privileged as Joseph ignorantly correlating it with suffering. Still, it wasn't John’s place to prod all willy-nilly when Joseph was concealing his discomfort so easily and hasn't made any remarks that would help John ease into it so he just let it drop. He wanted to talk about more fun topics anyways.

“So, I heard through the grapevine that you have something exciting planned for Halloween this year?” John asked with barely concealed excitement.

Joseph instantly perked up as his eyes almost shimmered with mischief. “Ah! Mary, can I tell him?!” He asked eagerly as he looked over his shoulder at his wife behind him.

Mary rolled her eyes with a smile and nodded her head, resulting in Joseph turning back forward on his horse as he looked at John with as much excitement as he had asking the question.

“We’re turning the first floor of our house into a Halloween-themed exhibit! The trick or treaters and their parents will have so much fun! I won't give you specifics but Mary and I decided a few days ago that we should try to collaborate like we used to before we had kids!” He happily informed John like he won the lottery or something similar before Mary jumped in.

“You should have seen it, Johnny Boy! Joseph and I went with an Egyptian-themed one year at our first house and he actually built a pyramid on our front lawn with plumbing pipes and light fixtures. Our electricity bill bit us in the ass on Halloween night but we went down as fucking legends!” Mary pumped a fist in the air triumphantly as Joseph let out a ‘woop!’ in the cutest way to agree enthusiastically with his wife.

“The Leermans thought they were the coolest house in the neighborhood but Mary showed them and we looked damn good in our Egyptian god outfits! She was Nitocris and I went as an unnamed mummy ph-”

“Joseph wrapped himself in toilet paper! Don't believe the shit coming out of his mouth, Johnny!” Mary blurted out, making Joseph’s face burn as red as a tomato as he sheepishly looked away in embarrassment.

John was full out laughing his ass off with Mary as his horse continued to lead them down the worn walking path without deviation. He could totally see Joseph going with the costume option that would get the most laughs out of kids and parents alike, looking like the ‘low effort’ option next to Mary. John half expected Mary to be the one to pitch the idea from how hilarious it would be, to be honest.

“I’m gonna need to see some proof of that, Mary Christiansen! As cute as it is to imagine Joseph wrapped in toilet paper while handing out candy to kids, I’m gonna call bullshit on this.” John declared with an haughty smirk on his lips.

“You’re on, Johnny! We got photo albums of proof for you and your non-believing ways! Be prepare to be amazed by our fantastic past and grovel as you buy me a drink in apology!” She roused up in retaliation, absolutely enjoying the dramatics of the moment as they ‘challenged’ each other. It was so endearing to see them both engaging in such playful bantering that John found himself unable to not smile at the sight.

“I look forward to that drink you’ll owe me, Mary!” John teased in a sing-song manner as they all laughed together, their horses unbothered by the merriment of the party while they continued down the trail in the sun, open plains. It was just what they all needed after so much stress in their lives; a place not to think about home, work, or kids but someplace new with good friends to enjoy it with. Sure, it wasn’t exactly new territory for John to traverse but it felt all the much new anyways to him to experience with Mary and Joseph.

“So, what about you, John?” Joseph smiled. “You going to do anything fun for Halloween?”

John gave Joseph a mischievous grin as he took one hand off of the rein to wag his finger teasingly at his friend. “You’re not the only one planning something fun, Christiansen. I’ll probably be here assisting with one of the shows they run here for special holidays like Halloween.” He winked playfully.

Joseph looked genuinely intrigued at that along with Mary. “Really?”

“Sounds like an advertisement push but call me curious enough to fall for the bait, Johnny Boy.” Mary remarked with a smirk on her lips. “Spill it.”

John chuckled sheepishly at that as he brought a hand to the back of his neck to rub at it bashfully. “Well, the farm likes to run some horse-themed holiday shows to draw out crowds and I chipped in a suggestion for a spooky Halloween-themed story that features horses in the lore...”

“Like ‘Sleepy Hollow’?” Joseph asked and John nodded his head.

“You’re on the right track with that but the owner thought ‘Sleepy Hollow’ was too ‘scary’ to be a good draw for families since many of the adults were ‘psychologically scarred by the Disney version’ or something.” John shrugged, not really finding the animated short to be scary at all when he went home that night to see what the other volunteers at the meeting were talking about. “Is a headless horseman concept really that scary?” He asked them, genuinely interested in their opinions on the matter.

Joseph brought a hand up to idly scratch at his chin in thought, his miasma levels still churning out that small but, noticeable spike though it was at least staying consistent rather than increasing. He couldn’t STILL be saddened by the earlier topic after laughing with them afterwards…

“Well, I think a ghost-monster actively hunting people for their heads is pretty frightening, especially to a small child that doesn’t understand that such things don’t exist outside of a fantasy realm.” Joseph started rather thoughtfully on the topic. “I mean, we’re- I’m not the only one who has accidentally let a kid watch a movie scarier than they should be able to handle but every kid and family is unique with what they can handle. Anyways, what will you be doing in the show instead of hanging out with us?”

John felt his face warm up from that implication that they wanted to make John part of their team or something. He put off asking for clarification for a moment to answer the question rather than answer a question with another question. “Well, it depends on what the story or theme we will go with before roles are decided. I would like to be one of the rider actors but that’s a bit much to hope for when we have much more experienced ones that won’t forget their lines and such.” He chuckled sheepishly.

“True. It is two months until Halloween.” Mary remarked. “I still think it’s pretty cool that Johnny Boy, here, is interested in acting. Joking aside, I do hope you land a role that brings you some satisfaction.”

John felt warmth fill his chest are her well wishes for him. He wasn’t used to having people being supportive of his hobbies outside of Amanda so this was an entirely new pleasant feeling he was experiencing, especially one coming from his crush. It made him all the more happy that he stepped out of his comfort zone to invite the Christiansens out on a date. Maybe today was a gift from whatever god put him on the Earth just like adopting Amanda was for him seventeen years earlier at the adoption agency.

“I’ll do my best. Try outs should be a week after we decide on what the story and theme will be!”

Joseph smiled happily at that, admiration clear in his eyes as he regarded John’s excitement. “We’ll be sure to bring the kids around before trick or treating starts since they would probably have the show time earlier in the day rather than later, right?”

“Probably? It would seem logical since I doubt we would get anyone to show up during the late afternoon hours with trick or treating being the highlight of Halloween.” 

“Are you planning on proposing a story at the next meeting or something, Johnny?” Mary asked curiously.

John wasn’t exactly sure if he wanted to take the risk of bringing up the nuckelavee myth since it was already so obscure to more well-known horse-themed mythologies and he would also run the risk of his identity over powering that of his human shell if more people knew about nuckelavees; the more well-known a legend was, the more power it would give to them. Most of his power was taken away with handing over his helm to the witch several centuries ago and his reality-affecting abilities, like the ability to cause sickness with every breath his horse half let out, were lost to give him a relatively harmless existence that he now enjoyed. Yes, he wanted to brag a bit about his youthful exploits but it was to entertain others in a safe manner then power his return to relevancy in this technological age.

Actually, it might be worth it to get Mary and Joseph’s opinion on his mythology and see if it sounds cool enough to kids these days. He’s certainly no vengeful, headless horseman with a pumpkin for a temporary cranium, that’s for sure.

“Well, I was thinking about pitching a Scottish myth actually.” 

“The Scottish have horse-related myths?” Mary quirked a brow curiously, Joseph just shrugging his shoulders as he looked off into the field.

John smiled at her ignorance, it was going to be quite fun to explain all of Scotland's mythical creatures but today wasn't that day for a long lecture. “Yeah! Ever heard of the ‘nuckelavee’?” He asked without missing a beat.

The sudden rush of miasma hit John before he could realize what happened. His hand coming up instantly to cover his mouth and nose as he started to cough excessively from how painful and overwhelming it was. It felt like he took whiskey shots straight into his lungs as his eyes welled up with tears and gripped the saddle to anchor himself during his fit. John’s vision blurred from his tears and the way the miasma was trying to force itself into his body when this form was not appropriate for such purposes. He could hear Joseph and Mary trying to say something, shouting loudly but John couldn't tell if it was out of concern for him or arguing with each other since he couldn't stop coughing long enough to hear what they were saying.

This miasma wasn't like the anxiety cloud that flowed off of Amanda's body the morning she was to leave for college or even the usual miasma of misery the Christiansens usually gave off on their worst days. It was thick, highly concentrated fear that he only felt when people had the worst of panic attacks or were involved in horrific accidents. 

John drove his heels into his horse’s side to make them pull far enough ahead of the group so he wasn’t in the miasma cloud, allowing him to breath more easily. Once he had his breathing under control, he looked over his shoulder, needing to know what the hell was going on and why. John felt his heart squeeze painfully as he laid eyes on Joseph, the blackest miasma pouring out of him enough to obscure Mary behind him while he managed to get his horse to catch up to John’s own. 

A nostalgic fear rolled through John’s body, one that was far too unfamiliar for him to remember exactly what it meant but that was probably the most troubling thing of all; What sort of fear was Joseph experiencing that even John couldn’t remember what it meant? Was it just a traumatic childhood flashback Joseph experienced when John brought up the nuckelavee topic? Did an asshole relative scare a younger Joseph with the myth or something?

“John! You okay?!” 

“Johnny?!”

The miasma shifted to that of a much thinner version from Joseph and Mary’s anxiety overriding whatever the hell had come over Joseph in that one moment. John pushed himself up, realizing he was slumping forward on his saddle from how weak the coughing fit and the forceful intake of that almost-toxic miasma wreaking havoc on his human shell. At least Mary and Joseph had seen enough movies or shows to pull on the reins to slow their horses as they each came up on either side of John’s idle one. 

Joseph got a hand on John’s shoulder to help steady him as he fought to steady his breathing. John felt a weak smile lift the corners of his lips as Mary also reached over, bringing the back of her hand up to press against John’s forehead. They were both so scared for his wellbeing and it was very heartwarming to experience. He hadn’t realized that he brought both of his hands up to cover both of the ones Mary and Joseph placed on him as he laughed weakly.

“I-I’m sorry for… scaring you both.” He chuckled weakly as he realized how heavily we was sweating, he must look like a total mess to both of them.

“Johnny, do you have any epi-pens on you?” Mary asked seriously as she gently took his hand into hers to place it back on the saddle. She then brought her hand back up to brush off the cold sweat that rolled down his face, worrying over him in a way that made him happy to know he could rely on her if he ever had a medical emergency.

“N-No. I’m not… Allergic to anything…” He breathed, feeling a bit better now that he wasn’t slumped over and making it more of a chore for his body to recover. 

“Let’s go back, okay? We’ll drive you to the hospital.” Joseph spoke as he gently squeezed John’s shoulder. 

“No! N-no. I just had a sudden coughing fit! S-Something probably went down the wrong pipe!” John explained as he hand waved Joseph and Mary’s concerns. “Probably a small bug?”

“Johnny…”

“Mary, I’m serious. I swallowed a bug!” 

She narrowed her eyes at him in a way that actually made John rather nervous. 

“If you are lying to me and we end up having to rush you to the hospital later then there WILL be consequences, John. You understand me?” 

John legitimately felt a cold shiver go down his spine with the way she used his actual name rather than one of the many nicknames she had for him as he nodded his head. “Yes. Yes, I understand!” He meekly replied as he held up his hands in front of himself to try to placate her. “I just needed a moment to recover. I’m sorry I worried you.”

Mary rolled her eyes at that. “Sure thing. My threat still stands.”

“Alright, let’s calm down now.” Joseph chuckled as he tried to lighten the conversation. “A little bug shouldn’t be enough to ruin the fun we are having on this ride, right? John, we’ll trust you to lead us forward but don’t feel bad if you need to turn us around if you feel faint again, alright?” He spoke to reassure both Mary’s concern and John’s insistence that it was just a one-time thing. Mary still seemed peeved but that was understandable since even John wouldn’t have trusted himself with such a flimsy excuse but at least Joseph was giving him some benefit of the doubt on this.

“Right. Sounds fair enough.” John admitted before he honestly felt good enough to continue the journey, especially with Joseph and Mary’s miasma level evening out. “You guys ready to return to the trail?” He smiled reassuringly as he looked from Mary to Joseph.

“Sure!” Joseph grinned. “You ready, Mary?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” She remarked, making John frown before she shook her head. “Okay, let’s go, You Two. I wanna know what Johnny Boy brought us for lunch anyways.”

Both John and Joseph were relieved at her perking up, even if it was just for their sakes. She rarely ever cared enough to do such things normally but maybe it was because she honestly wanted to continue enjoying the trail ride like before? John felt himself smile slightly as he picked up the reins to his horse and clicked his tongue in time with his feet against the horse’s side to get them going on a slow walk forward. Mary and Joseph mimicked him in a similar manner to get their horses going, falling into line behind John’s once more like they did earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a nice long chapter for you guys! The drama train is starting to pick up a bit of speed and I hope you all got your tickets cause it will be one hellova ride!
> 
> As usual, please leave a comment if you are loving the story! Even a one sentence review helps make it feel all the more worthwhile to continue working on the story! Tell me what you like and/or what needs work (other than my tense changes...)!
> 
> Again! Thank you guys!


	5. A Dark Cloud Part 2

Things were a lot more pleasant when John and the other resumed riding together but Joseph still had a bit more anxiety drifting off of him than John would have liked, it was very manageable though. It was like being downwind of a slightly unpleasant odor to him unlike the combination of old truck exhaust and concentrated sewer sludge the other miasma was in his lungs. John nipped down on his lower lip, troubled by Joseph’s knowledge and reaction to nuckelavee. His temples were throbbing from frustration and not even lifting his hat a few times to relieve the light pressure it caused to hold in place didn’t help much.

How long has it been since John encountered someone who actively knew of the nuckelavee myth much less actively put out that kind of miasma on that level? He racked his brain hard, the late summer heat not doing much to aid his search through his very long memory. John was sweating lightly under his clothing but the gentle breeze blowing through the area, rustling the long grass and the occasional tree helped him relax somewhat. Violet, John’s horse, seemed to be concerned with what just happened but thankfully clueless as to the context as well. Last thing he needed was his horse being upset with the situation as well.

“So, what was your first horse ride like, John?” Joseph asked, snapping John out of his conflicted daze with his sweet, reassuring voice. 

The miasma drifting off of Joseph returned to that thick dark tar that poisoned John’s lungs but it was just the aura John was feeling and not a bit of that dark cloud drifting towards his human body to be forcefully consumed. No. He glanced over his shoulder with a casual smile to see Joseph looking very composed with that miasma tightly contained near his body like a thin, black outline in John’s eyes. It was solid and controlled emotion, making John quirk his brow curiously.

As much as he would love to ponder more on this phenomena, he does have a story to tell. Maybe adding a bit of truth to it will help John gather more evidence on Joseph and what the miasma meant.

“Well, let’s see...” John hummed as he scratched a finger at his chin, figuring out how he wanted to word his early life story. He pulled Violet’s reins lightly to the left and had her slow down so he was abreast with Joseph’s horse’s flank so Mary could hear the story without much trouble at all. The miasma wavered off Joseph for but a moment when he moved his horse unannounced but went right back to a solid line around Joseph’s body once he understood that it was simply just a position change. John would have a better chance to gauge Joseph from this angle more confidently as well. “My first experience with a horse was on the beach. My father felt that falling off a horse and into the sand would be kinder than into the dirt. Boy, did I fall a lot off that horse.” He laughed, nostalgic of how strange it was to going from swimming in the water and walking on it to tripping over himself on land as a nuckelavee.

Mary seemed horrified by that though. “Oh my god. Your parents didn't start you on a pony?”

John barked out a laugh at that, knowing it wasn't nice to laugh at Mary’s ignorance but he couldn't help it. “If I only had a choice in the matter than I would have preferred a much closer fall to the ground. The horse wasn't as big as Violet here though so it wasn't so bad if that’s what you were worried about.” He smiled reassuringly at Mary, wanting to help her understand that it really wasn't that big of a deal. It was a humiliating experience but luckily no one was around, human or supernatural, as far as he remembered.

“What was it like though!?” Joseph suddenly spoke up, turned to face John the best he could confidently do in the saddle with his understandable beginner’s fear of falling out of it if he wasn't sitting perfectly straight in it.

John looked at Joseph in surprise from how excited and invested the blonde was in the story even though his horse was technically leading the group. Eh, the horses knew the trail like the back of their hooves and weren't expecting a deviation from the worn path anyways. Still, Joseph’s eyes were wide and bright in interest, the hard-line of the miasma fading practically to nothing but still present from what John could sense. It made this whole foreign miasma-thing all the more confusing to John as he thinks he’s getting closer to identify exactly what is causing it.

“What was… what like, Joseph?” John asked, not really sure what he was referring to. “Are you asking if it hurt to fall off a horse?” 

Mary snorted at that as she giggled behind her hand, poor Joseph flushing like a ripe strawberry up to the tips of his ear in an endearing manner. John felt his insides twist in glee even though he didn't intend to make Joseph look like an idiot by pointing out his lack of direction with that question. He honestly just wanted to help him out and genuinely give the eager minister the answer he sought. Urgh, why are you so endearing Joseph Christiansen? 

The blonde brought his hand up to fiddle with the visor of his goofy ‘dad’ hat as he nibbled on his lower lip trying to think through the embarrassment. The faded miasma outline thickening slightly and distracting John from how much his mind wanted to focus on Joseph’s lips. Wanting to figure out this mystery without flat out asking Joseph about nuckelavees would be the most idea situation to keep Joseph from dealing with unpleasant memories. He wanted Joseph to enjoy the day like they all were before John accidentally stepped on that landmine. His body probably wouldn't be able to take another beating from that miasma without the risk of revealing himself to vent the miasma or going to the hospital and ending up bed-ridden with a ‘disease’ with no known source. 

He couldn't risk either of them but his instinctive need to know what was bugging him about the miasma was also a huge concern. This was going to require careful navigation and balance. His need for self-preservation flaring a weak ‘fight’ signal in recognition of the unknown of Joseph’s miasma, a need he used to answer a long, long time ago with the end of his spear or hoof. Violence wouldn't help him or Amanda out in the long run, especially since he would basically have to abandon her and his life here where he was genuinely happy.

“John?”

John blinked and looked at a sheepish Joseph smiling at him, feeling his own face warm up and inside twist at how bashful he seemed. It tore him up to even think he would have to hurt such a person he has come to love and indirectly hurt Mary and the kids he enjoyed spending time with. Would he even be able to live with himself becoming a monster enough to do it though? No. He would rather just move away and just start life under a new name and identity. Amanda would understand.

“Okay, I think I figured out a less embarrassing way to phrase my question.” Joseph chuckled in amusement as he took his hand off the brim of his hat’s visor. “What were your first thoughts that day when you finally got steady in the saddle? How did you feel about not falling?” He asked, the miasma outline waning in strength around his form as he spoke thoughtfully.

John felt his heart hammer in his chest at that, making him wonder if Joseph really was that interested in his first ‘horse riding’ experience or something else with the way he spoke. The sincere tone of his voice and the relaxed that it made the words come out of John with such ease. “It felt like I had conquered one intriguing challenge when they were many more that seemed to stretch out endlessly for me on that beach facing further inland.” He spoke, as if trying to paint it out for both Joseph and Mary while they listened to him speak. “I remember the sand irritating my face, nose, and scalp from my falls but the frustration seems so minor in the grand scheme of things to come once I was steady. I was really happy even if I was spitting sand out of my mouth for a few hours afterwards.” John smiled genuinely as he remembered the moment he could walk forward toward the green brush that beaconed him with its vivid colors. Finally about to find out what was over the sand dunes he saw from the ocean.

“Wow. That’s kind of deep for a childhood flashback, Johnny.” Mary smiled as John turned to look at her to make sure she wasn't teasing him. “I probably wouldn't have looked at my first bike ride like that.” She laughed, making John smile at how she tried to relate to his experience even though she didn't know the whole context. It made him feel that much more comfortable around her, a warm feeling that made him that much more happy that he got this chance to deepen his bond with her.

John felt his insides twist as tears pooled up in the corners of his eyes. He took one hand off the reins to brush them away quickly with the back of his hand, sniffling a bit as he chuckled softly. Someone related themselves to his earlier experience. “You’re such a dweeb Mary. A total dork.” He continued to laugh as he brought his hand up to cover his face when the tears weren't letting up.

Mary and Joseph chuckled sweetly at his overreaction with Mary being the one to break the awkward atmosphere John was feeling. “You call me a ‘dork’, Johnny Fox Trot, but I’m not the one in sore need of a little hugging right now.” She grinned as Joseph pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and waited for John to speed his horse up a bit so he could take it after pulling his hand away to look at both of his favorite idiots. 

John pulled up on the reins with one hand to put his horse back where it was before unfolding the pure white handkerchief with a blue anchor in the corner and rubbing it against his eyes. He was smiling as he continued to try to get the waterworks under control. Why was he happy to the point of crying? This was so embarrassing since John needed to be alert as their trail guide, not crying like a fool because someone was very nice to him.

“I could kiss you, Mary Christiansen.” He laughed as he pulled the handkerchief away to look at Mary with puffy, red eyes and sniffled again to keep the boogers at bay. 

Mary smiled sweetly at that, her eyes much more lively than usual as she regarded John. “If you promise to kiss Joseph too then I think we can work something out between the three of us, Johnny Boy.” 

John laughed hard as he felt his face turn as red as a tomato from her teasing while bringing the handkerchief back up to whisk away the tears that still insisted on falling from the corners of his eyes. He must look like a nut case to the both of them. “You shouldn't tease a guy like that, Mary. He’ll start thinking you have it bad for him and soon you’ll start writing in each other’s diaries or something.” John grinned, pulling a fit of laughter from Joseph and Mary in one fell swoop with that one. He felt himself laugh along with them, the love for them in his heart releasing such a blissful warmth that seemed to override any sadness he felt from remembering his first steps alone on that Scottish beach.

He wasn't alone anymore and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. Bathe in the warmth and help shoulder the hardships with the Christiansens where they allow him to do so. It was the least he could do in return for the feeling of belonging he had with them, nuckelavee or not.

“Don’t know about any diaries Mary is hiding but I certainly won't object if you're harboring feelings for either of us, John.” Joseph smiled, the miasma line completely faded from his body, replacing that curiosity with the huge wall of ‘WHAT?!’ that hit John smack dab in the face and tackled him mercilessly to the floor.

John started bug-eyed at Joseph as he continued to smile that reassuring smile of his that was wreaking hell on John’s emotions cause he was way too damn cute for John to handle. “I… I must have misheard-”

“Shut up, Johnny Boy.” Mary interrupted in a dead panned manner. “We want to date you and, no, you are not going to wiggle your way out of this by playing mind games on yourself.” 

Joseph frowned disapprovingly as he looked over at Mary. “Mary…”

Mary huffed at that. “Don’t give me that, Joseph. Johnny might as well have ‘I have a crush on Mary and Joseph Christiansen!’ tattooed on his forehead with an orchestra in the background at this point.” She crossed her arms over her chest with the reins to her horse in one hand as she slipped into a more serious expression. “I get it, though, you want him to do it but I think it’s crueler to wait for a guy to confess his adoration for a married couple than just put the weight of responsibility of confessing the obvious on our shoulders, Joseph.”

Joseph’s eyes widened in realization at that before bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I hadn't thought about it like that before.” He confessed sheepishly with a light flush on his face.

Mary nodded her head in understanding at that. “‘Adam and Eve’ not ‘Adam, Eve, and Steve’.” She offered, Joseph sighing in agreement with that.

“Right, right. I guess it makes total sense why we should have said something instead.” Joseph spoke before he looked at John with a wonderful beautiful smile. “Minister or not, it’s understandable that you were hesitant in saying anything. I mean, I worry for how our neighbors see us and all but…” He grinned sheepishly as he let out an endearing little laugh in embarrassment. “We’re pretty much peas in a pod at this point with how people always talk about how close the three of us are. So long as we keep public display of affection on the downlow and set boundaries we can all agree on then I have no problem with the three of us getting romantic.”

John jaw was dropped at how well they both reasoned and talked this out like adults to help him understand while he was still waaaay back in the shock phase of finding out his love wasn’t as one-sided as he originally feared. The god-fearing, ideal Christian couple was going to actually consider polyamory for him. HIM! A demo-! fae-! mons-! whatever-the-fuck-a-nuckelavee-was-considered!! They wanted to break their monogamous marriage to include John and were being pretty damn sincere about it too! 

Amanda was in for him crying for joy over the phone for a good hour once everything would be allowed to settle after he got home.

“I- Seriously…?” John sniffled harder and more frequently as his heart was on the brink of bursting painfully in his chest from how anxious he was at all of this, the wet works starting up again just to put another nail in his coffin. “This is really happening? You’re not teasing me or anything…?” He asked, putting his heart in their hands with this, hoping to whatever higher power that there was that it wasn't some elaborate prank by Mary to make an example of him. 

‘It’s not cheating if you’re dating both of them, right?’ 

Amanda’s words were like a beacon of hope he was hanging on. Evidence from someone other than himself that they might have some mutual interest in him regardless of being children of God. He wanted someone to love him so badly after all of these centuries afraid of humanity's judgement, the weight of his crimes against them, and the passing of his first wife. 

“Fuck.” Mary cussed in light frustration, making John fear the rejection heading his way.

“Mary!” Joseph objected to her use of profanity, not reassuring John one bit for once as he scowled at her in slight annoyance.

Mary threw her hands up in frustration at that. “What?! Johnny Boy is crying and in bad need of a hug or a kiss, Joseph! Why didn't we say something BEFORE we got on these giant horses?! This is frustrating enough that I’ll gladly stuff a fucking ten into the damn swear jar when we get home!” She fumed, making Joseph roll his eyes but his empathetic smile was reached reassuring that that he wasn't really mad at her profanity usage. The lack of miasma drifting off them both in notable amounts was what really reassured John that the situation wouldn't escalate.

Also, that ‘swear jar’ comment put a small smile on John’s own lips as he could totally see them having that somewhere in the house. He made a mental note to play ‘where’s the swear jar?’ when he goes over to their house next time.

“Thank you, Mary. I really appreciate it.” John smiled, feeling all sorts of better from hearing her concern over him. “I… I wouldn’t mind a little hug after the ride.” He sheepishly replied to her offer, hoping she was being sincere about it AND didn’t seem too creepy at the same time.

Mary looked over at John in relief as she saw his smile and gave him a small one of her own. “I think that’s a rain check that both Joseph and I can fill, right, Joseph?”

“Yep.” He grinned in agreement.

\--

John was relieved when the trail ride was finally over, dismounting Violet after they entered the corral and letting out a huge sigh as he handed the reins over. Mary and Joseph dismounted their horses with instruction from the volunteers, Joseph almost fell but managed a few smooth steps after his first foot hit the ground to recovery somewhat smoothly. His cheeks were flushed up adorably as the volunteer handling his horse and Mary laughed. It made John smile wistfully as he watched Mary and Joseph approach him, making light-hearted jabs at one another before smiling as they acknowledged John. 

A volunteer led them out of the corral and back to the front entrance of the stable at John’s request. He was hungry and eager to have a little bit of wine after that eventful ride, especially with the strange happenings surrounding it. John’s eyes went to Joseph and he was greeted with a warm, genuine smile by the youth minister, making John purse his lips together at the glee he felt from having that smile laser-targeted at his own heart. It wasn't fair how endearing the man was!

They walked together back over to the van, Joseph opening up the trunk so John could sit down and switch his riding boots for regular shoes. He set them standing up on the floor of the trunk and was about to take the handle of the cooler before Mary swiped it smoothly with a grin on her beautiful face.

“I got it for you, Johnny Boy. Let’s go find a nice table to sit at, alright?” 

John felt his heart swell as he nodded his head with a huge smile on his face. He stepped back onto the gravel with his shoes and got out of the way with Mary so Joseph could lower the door and lock up the van once more. They all walked together, Mary looking absolutely gorgeous as the wind blew through her hair and captivating John’s gaze until he felt a strong arm hook on his right. Joseph was smiling mischievously at John and making John’s cheeks warm right up.

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Joseph winked playfully to make John’s stomach do back flips in glee.

Mary was positively eating up the compliment as she dramatically tipped her visor upwards and blew a kiss towards John, making his poor heart take a one-two punch from the insanely attractive couple. John whined as he buried his face into the hand the hand that was not being hooked on by Joseph. He was probably a flushing mess to anyone watching them as they walked to the sheltered picnic area. 

“Stop. My heart can only take so much blatant teasing.” 

Mary cooed teasingly at that as she set the cooler on the wooden table and flat out hugged John, pulling him in tight. John tensed up under the surprise physical affection Mary was engaging him in, the split second of fear being overran by the happiness that blossomed in John’s heart. He buried his face into Mary’s shoulder as he carefully wrapped his arm around her to reciprocate the best he could with Joseph’s arm still hooked on his own.

It felt so good to be held by someone who was willing to give him a chance for love, regardless if Mary and Joseph had their own problems. He felt his smile twist even moreso when he felt Joseph unlink his arm then gently hug John from behind as well. Tears welled up again in the corners of his eyes at Joseph taking part in the hug as well. His two favorite people hugging him so sweetly? He has to be dreaming.

“Is this really okay…?” John sniffles hard as he asked no one in particular.

“Yes, it is.” Joseph spoke quietly to John to reassure him. “I’m sorry that we didn't approach you sooner.”

“Shut up and hug me, Joseph.” John spoke with a smile on his lips as tears rolled down his cheeks. Joseph and Mary chuckled sweetly at that, their arms fighting for a better hold on John’s body and eventually degrading into playful hand swatting between them that had John laughing with them at the casual mood.

They eventually released him from their holds and sat down together on the bench. Joseph and Mary seemed eager, in their own ways, on either side of John as he opened the cooler. The first thing he did was place each bag of homemade chips down on the table before pulling out three small boxes of wine. Mary whistled at that as she used a finger to tip the brim of her visor upwards. John then distributed the labeled tupperware containers to each recipient before closing up the cooler and pushing it out of the way to bring his items forward.

“Lady and Gentleman,” John started off as he turned to regard each of his friends/new romantic partners with a bit of flair in his voice. “You’re lunches. Homemade subs catered to your tastes and potato chips I crisped myself with my portable fryer. I recommend alternating between the sandwich and the chips for maximum effect. Please, enjoy your meals.” He grinned, popping off the lid of his container to start as Mary and Joseph followed suit with eager expressions on their faces.

“Wow. You really went all out, Johnny Boy.” Mary remarked as she picked up her sub with two hands and took a bite, humming pleasantly while looking blissed out. She chewed to savor the flavor of her sandwich before she set it down on the upside down lid of her container and reached for her ziplock bag of chips to open. “Oh man. Please teach Joseph how to make something this good.” Mary practically begged as she pulled out a chip and took a satisfyingly crunchy bite out of it. “Yep. That seals the deal. You are giving Joseph cooking lessons and that’s final, Johnny Boy.”

Joseph laughed in amusement after swallowing the bite of the sandwich he partook in. “I’ll do as the pretty lady says. I want to learn what spices you put on it to make it really pop like this, John. I’ll teach you to bake if you teach me your expertise.” He winked playfully, making John’s face flush up and his heart beat rapidly in excitement.   
“No way. The confectionery master is going to take some training in the art of making delicious jarable products?” John grinned as he waggled his brow teasingly at Joseph and lightly elbowed the man playfully in return.

Joseph smiled happily at that, his eyebrows doing the cute thing when he was genuinely excited and happy about something. John felt like his insides were going to be permanently stuck in a twisted manner from how gleeful Joseph made him. “I’d like to think I’m a modest man capable of learning, from one ‘pro’ to another, you know. Though I don't think I’ll learn right off the bat how to get Craig and his family addicted to my creations.” 

John smirked at that challenge Joseph was playfully shoot him. “Amusing, Christiansen. Amusing.” He snickered before he dug into his sandwich, Mary assisting them by opening their wine boxes, both Joseph and John giving her a ‘thank you’ before she smiled and took a sip out of her own.

Mary set her box down and put the cap back on before picking up her sandwich to take another bite out of it. The three of them alternating between sipping wine from their boxes, eating a few chips, and progressing further through their sandwiches. John was so blissfully happy sitting between them both and so proud that the extra care he put into the meal paid off so spectacularly. Joseph was so relaxed that the black line of miasma was completely gone and replaced with his usual cloud that waft off his form along with Mary’s. It was very manageable to sit in-between them and enjoy a great lunch with both of them moaning in approval after every bite of food.

Amanda was going to totally freak out and in a good way for once! He didn't get to say that often at all.

“So, do you enjoy filling mason jars for a living? Craig is one of the biggest cheerleaders and I can see why now, Johnny.” Mary spoke before raising her half-eaten sandwich for emphasis and taking another bite.

John chuckled in amusement at that. “I was a businessman before I moved over here and decided to try my hands at a startup. Amanda was the one who suggested I try doing it.”

Joseph nodded his head in agreement after taking a sip from his wine box and twisted the lid back on before setting it back down on the table. “Right! I remember everyone trying out your dessert dip samples at the baking sale. I think you gave away more sample jars then we managed to sell brownies.” He snickered in amusement as John’s face flushed red at that.

“I was trying to sell the brownies! I swear!”

“Suuuuure.” Joseph sarcastically drawled before giving John a disarming wink. “I’m not bitter that it helped jump started your clientele list, if that’s what worried you.”

John pouted in annoyance at that before he turned to look at Mary. “He’s being a bully, Mary!”

Mary grinned and picked up her sandwich. “Don’t let his charm fool you, Johnny Boy. Exploit his weakness to make him beg for forgiveness.” She suggested rather unhelpfully.

“Like what? His inability to cook ribs?”

Joseph was snickering at that as he munched on a few chips. What a loveable nerd.

Mary shrugged her shoulders at that before she swallowed her food. “You’ll figure it out, Johnny. You’re a smart and observant cookie.”

John grinned in amusement. “A direct compliment for once? I’m honored.” He and Joseph laughed after Mary elbowed him in the side for that little snark, a smug smile on Mary’s face betraying nothing.

All-in-all a great way to finish off a fantastic adult date between them as they thanked John for the fantastic food and helped him clean and pack up the cooler. They were all in a great mood as they headed back to the van, John’s face carrying a constant smile with both Mary and Joseph hooking an arm on either of his own. It was a fun atmosphere as they told witty jokes and made sass retorts back and forth, John not feeling the least bit down when they parted at the van. John went to sit in the back seat while Mary took shotgun, Joseph putting the cooler back into the trunk before closing it and climbing into the driver’s seat. There was considerably less singing this time on the way home but they filled the time by talking about the horse ride and how much they enjoyed it overall, minus the ‘coughing spat’ John had.

The Christiansens were even in a good enough mood to walk him back to his front porch to see him off after John gathered his cooler and riding boots from the van!

“Thanks for the drive, Guys! I hope you had fun today.” John smiled warmly as Mary and Joseph regarded him with equally fond smiles.

“Not as fun as watching you at Jim and Kim’s but a very close second, Johnny Boy.” Mary winked playfully, making John roll his eye sarcastically at that.

“I’m oblivious to your fun at Jim and Kim’s but I will say it was a very eye opening experience to spend time with you on something you truly enjoy, John.” Joseph remarked with a chuckle, ignoring the obvious implication of Mary and John’s party behavior at the bar for once to keep the mood light regardless of his miasma increasing just a tad bit in contrast to the smile he was wearing. “As much as you indulge in general child care assistance and neighborhood functions with us, I think Mary and I will plan for next week’s adult date. I think we’ll go through our old photo albums and try to remember some of our more fun date ideas when we were younger. I want you to get to know us as we get reaquainted with each other.” He spoke fondly with a genuine smile, instantly catching Mary’s attention with the surprised look on her face. 

Clearly, he didn’t talk about it with her but that neutral expression slowly turning upwards into a genuinely heartfelt smile that made him want to cry. He wouldn’t though because it was one thing to bawl his eyes out at the farm where none of his clients or their neighbors went to and another to do it right on the front steps of his own house. Amanda would have a field day teasing him about this but he really couldn’t wait to get inside and gush everything to her!

“I would like that a lot.” John replied, warmth blossoming in his chest for Joseph being more proactive on fixing things with Mary. “But, still, don’t be afraid to ask me to come over to help out, alright? Just cause I’m in a relationship with you two doesn’t mean other doors get shut because we don’t want to look like we’re being too demanding.” He reminded them both as he looked from Mary to Joseph expectantly with a reassuring smile.

“The same goes for you, John.” Joseph spoke, the curious black outline of miasma reappearing but very subtly. “If you ever feel the need to, say, go out into the middle of the forest and scream to the high heavens on a bad day then just let me know, alright?” He smiled, making John flush in embarrassment.

“D-Do I look like the type to go screaming in the woods?” John asked sheepishly, imaging himself and Joseph walking down the forest reserve trail while John yells ‘FUCK YOU’ at the top of his lungs, Joseph just chuckling in amusement beside him. 

That actually sounded like a lot of fun, now that he thought about it.

The outline around Joseph grew thicker at that but was still very much contained to not let the floodgates run rapid like it did on the trail ride. John felt uneasy with his own speculations on this miasma but did not let it show as Joseph smiled. He would have a talk with Amanda later to toss ideas back and forth on what it could possibly be even though she was not a nuckelavee.

“It would be interesting to find out!” Joseph laughed. “Anyways, we gotta head back now! We’ll see you at church on Sunday?”

John smiled at that. “Like usual, Joseph. See you guys around!” He grinned before setting his items down to unlock his front door with his key, hearing Mary and Joseph head back over to their car. He tucked his key back into his pocket before opening up his door, using his butt to keep it open while he picked up his riding boots and the cooler. 

Once John was inside, he set down his boots and cooler by the shoe rack before toeing his own shoes off to put on it. John then picked up the cooler and carried it with him into the kitchen to start cleaning out the tupperware containers. He took out his phone from his pocket while the sink filled with water and dialed Amanda’s number. John had a lot to about with his daughter about his date; both the good and the bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you guys are enjoying the fic so much! Please tell me what you thought about this chapter! Any feedback is good feed back no matter how short the review! I always appreciate them!


	6. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John's world gets shaken.

“No way!” Amanda practically squealed in excitement on speaker phone while John was washing the containers and setting them on the strainer by the sink after rinsing them off. “They actually want to date you, Pops?! Not just have a threesome or something? Legit dating?!”

“AMANDA!” John practically screamed as his face flushed a deep red, dropping the container lid he just washed off right back into the sink from pure shock.

“What? I’m just asking questions, Dad. How am I supposed to know if you guys are just aiming for romance or something purely sexual?” Amanda huffed in annoyance on the other side of the speaker phone. 

John grumbled as he picked the lid back up and started scrubbing it down again in the filled side of the sink with the soap. “If I was entering a purely sexual relationship with them I believe they would have clarified that and I would have declined the offer.” He spoke firmly, a complete lie since he was so damn smittened and lonely that he might just be desperate enough just to be the Christiansen’s booty call. John would never tell that to Amanda because, god, that would be heartbreaking to admit…

“Well, then, I’m really happy for you, Pops! You managed to pick up a cute boyfriend and girlfriend! My horse dad has good tastes and amazing luck!” She practically grinned as John felt his heart squeeze happily at that. It was confirmation from someone other than himself that this was really happening! “So, did Joseph fall off his horse?! Mary lose her hat in the wind?! Details about the ride, Pops! Spill them!” Amanda snapped her fingers and made John laugh as he rinsed off the container top. He set it on the strainer before reaching down into the sink to unplug the rubber stopper and wash it off under the faucet.

“Nah. There was none of those funny accidents, Panda.” He chuckled as he set the stopper on the strainer to dry before turning the faucet head to start rinsing the suds from the side of the draining sink. “It was like riding with two, not-so-assholeish, Greek gods; They were perfect tens in their dorky, matching outfits, and I felt like my heart was going to light on fire from the deadly combination of snark and flirting comments they kept dropping on me.”

“Awww!” Amanda cooed happily. “That’s adorable! They knew exactly how to win your affection and drive you up the wall at the same time! I’m so jealous, Pops!” 

John rinsed off his hands after he was done cleaning the sink and grabbed one of the hand towels to dry off his hands. “I dressed up like a cowboy.” He admitted with a smirk, listening to Amanda groan in embarrassment at that. 

“Daaaaad!” She whined. “Why would you purposely deduct cool points from yourself like that?”

“‘Cause I thought it would show off my charm?” He grinned as he hung the hand towel back up on the rack. 

“More like you showed off how much of a nerd you are.” She teased playfully.

John put his hand to his heart at that like Amanda just shot him. “Ouch! The betrayal! To think I’m the one paying for your education!” He blubbered dramatically to her.

“I love you too, Pops!” She snickered. 

John then scooped up his phone and carried it out of the kitchen. The living room couch was begging to be sat on by his old man butt and he would resist its call no longer as he plopped down on it. He set his phone down on the coffee table as he crossed one leg casually over the other and stretched out across it like a cat. “But, yeah, Joseph wore a hat that had ‘dad’ on the text. I don't think I was the dorkiest one there at all, Panda.”

“I could totally see Mr. Christiansen doing that.” She laughed, making John smile as he folded his arms behind his head to relax. 

His mind then traveled to something that John didn't expect at all from Joseph on the trail ride before feeling his smile quickly start to fade. “Amanda?”

“Yeah, Dad? What’s with the sudden downer?” She asked with some concern.

“Something… strange happened when Mary, Joseph, and I were on the trail together.”

Amanda paused for a lot longer than she usually did before she spoke up. “... What happened?”

John let himself relax as he closed his eyes for a moment to recall everything that happened. “We were talking about our plans for Halloween this year and I told the Christiansens about my involvement with the stable’s volunteer program. The Halloween show and all that? Well, I was asked about what spooky, horse-themes mythology I would want to propose to the group at the Halloween plan meeting coming up and mentioned the nuckelavee myth.”

He sucked in a breath before he continued. “Next thing I know, I’m being washed over by this tar-like miasma and was gasping for breath as it literally tried to force itself into my body through my eyes, nose, ears and pretty much every pore on me. I had to push my horse away from Mary and Joseph just to get out of the toxic cloud trying to suffocate my human form. Once I was in the clearing, I turned around, trying to figure out what hit me like a truck, and there was Joseph, the blackest miasma I had ever seen pouring out of him enough to even obscure Mary, on her horse, behind him! I just-! I was so frightened, Panda! I really can’t remember a miasma overwhelming to the point where I couldn't breath right!”

John on the brink of tears from recall the encounter as he brought a hand up to cover his eyes. “I- I don’t even remember encounter a miasma so dark and heavy that, even after Joseph got his emotions under control, it still produced a firm black outline around his body! It’s driving me crazy, Panda!” He frantically wiped away the tears brimming in the corners of his eyes, not even sure why he was so upset over all of this as his heart squeezed like a vice in his chest. “Should I be scared of what happened…? I don’t even know, Panda!”

“Dad…” Amanda whispered, sympathizing heavily with her father as he poured out his frustration on her. John felt like a huge scumbag for laying all of this on her when she was way too far away to hug him when he broke down like this. He always did put way too much pressure on her…

“Dad… I-...” Amanda sniffled hard on the other side of the phone, making John feel even more of an asshole for venting like this. “I told Mr. Christiansen about you.”

John felt like Amanda literally ripped his whole heart out of his chest and stepped on it timidly, crushing it slowly under her foot. “... Amanda…?”

She sniffled harder and hiccuped, admitting to a guilt that he had trouble fathoming in his mind while his heart knew all too well what this was: She sold him out.

“Why…-” He paused for a long moment, thinking what he was going to say through before continuing. John has known Amanda all of her life. From her fears and her burning passions. That she was always afraid of leaving him alone when she moved on in life. How she took such an invested interest in the Christiansens and was always willing to help them out. It dawned on him WHY she would out him to Joseph and it made him want to break down even harder. “You wanted to make sure I had someone to watch my back when I need to vent.” He managed to croak out.

“Dad, please! Joseph-!” Amanda was at the point of having a panic attack before she stopped and took several deep breaths to get her anxiety under control. It killed John to hear her on the brink even as he still felt a sickening hatred in his mind from her betraying him. 

“Take your time, Amanda… I’ll wait.” He managed to say, finding his rational self in a moment of clarity where he remembered he was her father and she his daughter. 

She was her own person with thoughts and fears. 

A heart overflowing with love for him and he needed to hear her out.

Amanda deserved the benefit of the doubt.

“Thanks, Dad…” Amanda sniffled, her voice shaky as a leaf in the autumn breeze. “I… I knew you weren't going to uphold your promise to me to find someone to help you out. I wasn't going to let you suffer alone without me so I did as much background checking on Mr. Christiansen since it was clear you were attached at the hip with him. As good as any eighteen year old could. It wasn't my place to go behind your back but you would rather hospitalize yourself than admit that you need help. You can't do this by yourself and not get discovered sooner than later and I know it would hurt you so much to run away from Maple Bay, Dad.” She explained. “I wanted to tell you about my conversations with Mr. Christiansen before I left but… yeah…”

So, that explains why she couldn't sleep along with her curiosity into John’s past.

John brought his hand up and dragged it through his hair, knocking his hat right off his head to the floor. What a seriously shitty situation he was in… “Great. Now, I don't know if Joseph genuinely likes me or is trying to set me up for an exorcism.” He groaned, absolutely miserable as he rubbed at his eyes with his hands.

“... Dad. Mr. Christiansen doesn't know the first thing about that stuff. He’s just a youth group leader, not a demon hunter or something. This isn't the era of witch hunts anymore.” Amanda spoke rather calmly. “Everyone thinks everything is an elaborate photoshop these days and no one really thinks cryptids or magic really exist outside of movies. No one is going to believe Mr. Christiansen even if he dragged a news team to record you in the woods, not that he would ever do that.” She reassured him.

“It was still a shitty thing for you to do, Amanda.” John sighed depressingly. He didn't want to think about anything else but his daughter’s blatant disregard for his autonomy. Everything about Joseph and John’s identity in a skeptical world was a can of worms altogether. “I just- How could you have done this to me, Amanda? Did I do something to hurt you so badly?”

“Dad! Dad, no! You didn't do anything! I just wanted you safe! That’s all I ever wanted!” Amanda pleaded, practically sobbing from how hurt she was by his words.

John knew he was hurt and upset with Amanda’s actions but he wasn't doing their relationship any favors by taking it out on her like this, even in a relatively subdued manner. He took a deep breath in and out, rubbing at the tears rolling down his own cheeks before leaning over to grab a tissue from a box to blow out his nose. It was tossed away into a waste bin by the couch and he brought his hands up to rub at his swollen eyes. Everything hurts, especially his heart and it’s not only because of Amanda…

“Amanda. Listen. I think I need to rest on this before we continue further, alright? Can I give you a call tomorrow? What time would be okay for you, Sweetie?” He asked, picking up his phone from the coffee table and walking out of the living room and into the kitchen. John stood in front of the fridge and took the dry eraser marker from the ‘to-do’ list clipboard that was mounted on it with his weekly order list.

“... 3:30 in the afternoon would be okay…”

John jotted down the time on the schedule for tomorrow and put the cap back on the marker before clipping it back to the clipboard. “Alright. We’ll talk more then. I still love you, Panda. Don’t assume I hate you for this, alright?” He managed to choke out, not wanting her to misunderstand his feelings for her regardless of how he felt.

“Okay, Dad. I love you too… Bye.”

“Bye.”

He hung up with that and set his phone on the counter, burying his face in his palms. At least he now recalls what the miasma was that Joseph gave off. It has been so long since he was on the Scotland Isles and actively terrorized a populace to see such tar-like miasma that once powered his whole being as a nuckelavee. No wonder he didn't recognize it.

The fear of a nuckelavee driving fear into Joseph’s heart…

\--

John finds himself at church during confessional after he had a lengthy heart-to-heart with Amanda. He downright miserable and feels like he has to drag himself to do what he needs to do. To verify for himself if Joseph truly believes that John is indeed a nuckelavee, and do so in the same manner Amanda has been managing conversations with Joseph behind his back for the past few weeks: make use of Joseph’s time in the confessional in the early Friday afternoon hours.

Amanda was way too smart and good at this for John to even think he could keep his composure with a thin decorative board between him and Joseph. She encouraged him to do so anyways and he went with it since his alternative thoughts were much more terrifying in nature. 

He put his car into park in the church parking lot and locked up his car as he stood idly next to it. There were hardly any other cars here except the ones in the ‘staff’ parking spaces where Joseph’s van was slotted in-between two sedans. John’s bloodshot eyes fell to his shoes as he leaned his hip against the door of his car, tucking his keys into his back pocket and just trying to dig up the courage to continue forward towards the church. 

He couldn't sleep last night but it shouldn't have been enough to put dark bags under his eyes and leave him feeling exhausted on his feet. It was probably his own misery combined with the stress Joseph’s miasma put on him yesterday. John didn't think anything of it when he laid down to sleep at his usual time before he found himself unable to get comfortable enough to drift off. Instead, he was shifting and kicking at the sheets and plagued by a heavy weight on his body. He tried laying in place for an hour or two before getting up and going downstairs to walk laps to tucker himself out. It did make him sleepier but the weight continued to exert uncomfortable pressure on his body, making him itch for a shift to blow it off him. The itch was only minor since he had soldiered through worse but it was still a concern on his consciousness.

It was why he turned up here after Amanda told him of the confessional hours and time blocks that Joseph regularly lead. If Joseph was going to be a problem then they needed to talk it out somehow and find a solution that worked for them both. Amanda was right in assuming that no one would believe Joseph, regardless of being the beloved Christian dad of the neighborhood. This wasn't the witch trial era he lived through anymore.

John took a deep breath and stepped away from his car. The sunny day being in stark contrast to how he felt as his legs felt stiffer than usual while he walked over the paved parking lot towards the sidewalk that led towards the church. Normally, he was usually happy to come to church with the Christiansens for Sunday services. He wasn't a devout Catholic and merely came with since he was bored and figured he could help Mary keep the kids in line. It was just a thing he did to spend more time with them and have the added bonus of seeing the Christiansens in their dress wear (and Joseph in those robes on a rare occasion).

Last thing he ever wanted to do was to mar his association of happiness with this place that means so much to Joseph…

John pulled open the door to the church and went inside. The building was cool compared to the warmth outside, the lights dimmed since it was cheaper to keep an open, yet, idle church lit like that. John found it oddly calming with the lack of people packing the place like sardines on Sunday when John would have Mary crushed up against him with Crish in her arms and her eyes on the twins plus Chris to make sure they don't wander off. His eyes gravitate to their ‘spot’ in the back lounging area where they gravitate to every Sunday and how nice it is to have Joseph standing next to him to act as a shield of sorts to keep the crowd from pushing in on them on the busiest services of the year. His warm smile while he wore a suit…

John shook the beautiful image out of his head as he turned right to go down the hallway past the coat room to the actual congregation hall for service. He gently pulled the wooden door open and stepped inside the sacred hall of worship for his friends/lovers, letting the door close behind him with a firm thump. The sound echoed in the large, open room with no service being held. All the packed pews empty and devoid of life that he was used to seeing. It was almost like he stepped into another dimension compared to what he was used to seeing.

He eyed the confessional booth over by the wall to his left. A beautiful piece of art with meticulous care put into its construction with two doors, one for the priest and the other for the sinner, he guessed. John’s footsteps echoed almost eerily, as if the chamber itself was making it very clear the weight he carried towards the confession booth (that or giving a warning to the very man John has come to see).

He grasped the handle of the door after verifying on the schedule posted on the confessional booth that it was indeed open for ‘business’, as John would put it, and pulled it open. The booth was unoccupied as John stepped inside, closing it behind him before taking a seat on the lone wooden stool provided in the small compartment. It was dim in the booth but very comforting to John as he took a seat, his eyes looking forward at the human-shaped silhouette on the other side of the partition. He could tell it was Joseph from the misery that flowed off him in waves but it was not that tar-like miasma, at least not yet…

The priest on the other side turned towards him, a few moments passing where John let himself into a state more… anonymous than he was right now. 

His body shifted almost painfully as he focused it just on his throat, feeling like he was carving it out with knives to get his voice to drop an octave to sound similar to his nuckelavee form. John did this a few time before in the past when insistent telemarketers wouldn’t get off his back so it wouldn’t be too hard to shift it back to his normal one if Joseph figured out it was him anyways.

“Father…” John started off quietly, his timber voice echoing almost unnaturally in the small booth. 

Joseph seemed to tense up at that for a moment before letting out a relieved chuckle. “My. It’s been quite some time since someone brought a voice modifier to confessional. Pardon my rudeness for finding it somewhat humorous.”

John felt himself smile a bit at hearing Joseph’s voice and was more relaxed himself with that little ice breaker. Leave it to Joseph to have dealt with people bringing in voice modifiers with a cool attitude like that instead of demanding him to turn it off. “How are you doing today?” John found himself asking, not really sure how to move into the heavy topic they needed to discuss together just yet.

“I’m doing well. Thank you. Is there, perhaps, a name I could address you as?”

“Alex.” John replied, picking a random name off the top of his head that had no real significance to him or to the Christiansens as a whole.

“‘Alex’, then? Alright, Alex. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I will say this, that I’m not a priest, but I am still authorized by the church to conduct confessionals and received the proper training to do so.” Joseph offered as a disclaimer, probably to give transparency to those who did not know that he was not an official priest and did not want to be deceived. “Is this alright with you, Alex?”

John paused for a few moments to give the illusion of deep thought before nodding his head. “Yes, this is acceptable. How should I address you?”

“‘Minister’ has worked rather well in the past. Would that be alright?”

This made John idly wonder if there were a lot of ministers in this particular church that assisted with running it on a day-by-day basis. He knew nothing of the religion outside of the stories he heard while he attended church with the Christiansens on Sunday. All he knew of the hierarchy of this particular church was that Joseph was one of two youth ministers and that there was a head priest that tended to lead the whole shebang on Sundays. He had no idea if the service during the week was any different since he never bothered to attend it. John brushed the thoughts aside to focus on more important tasks that needed his priority right now.

“Yes, Minister. If that is what makes you comfortable.” He remarked quietly in return.

“Good! Good!” Joseph chuckled, John practically seeing the pleased smile on the other man’s face even though it was heavily obscured by the partition between them. “How can I help you today, then? What seems to be the trouble?”

Alright. Here we go…

“Minister, I’m not a man that seeks much in life after all the sins I’ve committed in the past. I have found much joy breaking away from that life and trying to find ways to bridge the gaps between my awkward self and those I wish to connect with. Happiness seems to finally be within my reach but my past has snuck up on me in a way I would have never expected it to. I come to you, Minister, to seek help finding answers to my problems. To the best of your abilities, of course.” John spoke humbly of his past, going so far as to call his nuckelavee rampage on the Scottish shores ‘sins’ when it honestly falls outside of the realm of human judgement. He definitely wasn’t a human back then and has kept his hands clean since the moment he traveled overseas to America. John still needed someway to keep it all vague while still having something to lead into when he was ready to confront Joseph so it wouldn’t come as a total surprise.

Joseph hummed at that, probably assuming it was related to gang or petty crimes instead of something like mass murder. John still remained quiet to give the man some time to think of his answer, even though it was probably going to be completely off the mark.

“The path to Heaven is not one without trials, Alex. You seem to be afraid of what your past means to your present self and how it will affect those around you. Do you have those around you to assist you in some way to avoid straying from the path of righteousness?” Joseph asked thoughtfully.

“Yes.” John answered firmly, his thoughts drifting to that of Amanda. “My problems are not of having someone support my endeavours to stay on the straight-and-narrow but letting those outside of my family, whom I love dearly, learn of this past of mine, Minister. I want others to understand who I was but I am afraid they will think poorly of who I am now regardless of how far I’ve come.” He clarified, his heart pounding in his throat from how anxious he was about toeing the line between the truth and the whole truth regarding his status as a cryptid. His hands grip the fabric of his pants tightly in his fists as John does his best to stay calm.

“I see.” Joseph hummed. “Have you repented for your sins?”

“Yes, and, in a way, no.” John remarked before taking a deep breath in and out for a long moment to summon up his courage. “I… My crimes were so very long ago and so few know about it here that it honestly doesn’t matter if I repent to society’s expectations or not.”

“What is it about your crimes that weigh so heavily on your mind then, Alex?” Joseph asked, his anxiety of the unknown person on the other partition making his miasma flow outwards a bit more heavily.

“That my best friend will think I will become that monster I once was because he knows I’m not human anymore.” John confessed as he felt tears rolling down his cheeks and his chest threatening to cave in on itself from how scared he was. He brought his hands up to cover his face and brush the stinging tears away as he pathetically sniffled.

John heard frantic shuffling on the other side of the partition and something heavy being knocked over before the ‘priest’ side’s door was shoved open. He prepared himself for the worst as he trembled in fear for what he had done. Joseph know knew that it was John on the other side and expected him to run for the hills before the door to the ‘sinners’ side was slammed open. John whipped his head towards the door and saw a blur of black before the door was promptly closed and a warm pair of arms wrapped around John.

“Christ, John! What are you evening thinking?!” Joseph demanded as he let John bury his face into his black ceremonial robe. Anger and fear drifting off of Joseph along with the solid presence of the tar-like miasma behind it as John clung tightly to Joseph’s robes with his hands, going so far as to violate his own ‘curse’ rule to say Jesus’ name in vain from how upset he was. 

“Fuck you, Joseph! You have no idea how terrifying it is to learn that your daughter has been feeding your best friend the truth of your non-human status behind your back for weeks!” Joseph sobbed as his voice snapped back into his normal, human one. “I couldn't sleep last night at all because of all of this!”

“John. John, I need you to listen to me.” Joseph pleaded quietly to him as he rubbed a hand on John’s back in slow, soothing circles. “I want to talk to you about all of this but it can’t be here.”

“Isn't the church supposed to be a sanctuary?” John laughed nervously, sniffling hard afterwards. 

He didn't expect Joseph to come running into his side of the booth and try to console him like this. John didn't expect the tar-like miasma to not wreak havoc on his body from being held so closely to Joseph’s body while he was actively aware John was a nuckelavee in disguise. Just what was going on with this miasma? It was the same one that nearly suffocated him on the trail ride but it was barely flowing to John at all regardless of them talking about nuckelavee.

“I… There’s a lot of things I don't know about the church, especially after all the convincing Amanda has done to make me realize that there are supernatural living amongst our society. I honestly didn't think anything of her wild tales until you mentioned the legend on the trail ride. Please. We need to talk somewhere safer than here.” Joseph begged, his voice filled with fear but not directed at John for once. “Please, John.”

John nipped down hard on his bottom lip as he sniffled hard, Joseph pressing his lips so gently against the top of his head. There was no way he would say ‘no’ to his reasonable request, especially if Joseph was truly on his side for this whole thing and was fearful of what he wasn't sure of when it came to his own church. It probably wouldn't be his exact church that would mount a quiet hunt for him but possibly someone in the church administration rating John out to a much higher member somewhere else. John didn't want to believe that the church would continue to hunt in the shadows of a modern era but knew that it wasn't unlikely. He gave Joseph a tight hug before he leaned his head up to whisper into Joseph’s ear.

“Please let my faith in you be true.”

Joseph responded by pulling away enough to press a chaste kiss to John’s forehead. “Let me earn that faith, John. I swear I will be strong by you.” He murmured before getting up and helping John to his feet. “Text me when you can, alright?” 

John nodded his head and brushed his tears aside, feeling something like honest-to-goodness hope filling the void in his chest as Joseph left first before getting back into his side of the confession booth. He took a deep breath and left afterwards, closing the door to the booth behind himself before walking out of the prayer hall. John had a hand resting on his chest as he felt himself walk through the empty, low-lit halls, feeling less welcomed here considerably but not in the way he envisioned.

He saw himself violently strangling Joseph through the partition or materializing his spear to kill him quickly in his most horrifyingly intrusive daydreams. John felt sick to his stomach at even considering doing such a thing to Joseph as he pushed open the door with his shoulder to head outside. The fresh air felt like a cold glass of water after standing in a sauna for an hour, helping John breath as the breeze cooled his sweating body. He wasn't even aware of how close he was to having a panic attack when Joseph left his booth in a hurry…

John didn't want to loiter too long here and headed right for his car, digging his phone out of his back pocket when it vibrated. He unlocked the screen as he used his other hand to pull out his keys as he stepped off the sidewalk into the parking lot.

Hugo: Are we still going to watch some wrestling at your place, John? I’m at the grocery store to pick up some tortilla chips and beer.

John felt his stomach jump in panic as he remembered Hugo was going to come over to taste test several of the dips he was working on and quickly bolted the last few feet to his car. He quickly unlocked his car and jumped in, setting his phone in the cup holder for a moment as he pulled his belt on and started up his car before picking it back up to text Hugo back. The whole fiasco with Joseph and Amanda totally made him forget about Hugo!

John: Yeah! I’m heading home right now! I’ll be there in fifteen!

Hugo: No problem. I’ll be over in thirty. See you soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter, Guys!
> 
> Just gonna let you guys know that Mary will be less involved from this point on. I did say that Mary x Dadsona was a background ship and for good reason. John and Joseph got a lot of stuff they need to get sorted out before they can even think about bringing Mary into it at all.
> 
> It's gonna get a little bumpy folks but please stick around!
> 
> As always, leave a review if you liked the chapter or how the story is progressing! I read and respond to every review I get since it helps keep me motivated to write more content!


	7. Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drinking to forget is a bad idea when you're a cryptid.

The more he thought about what he had done; What he had confessed to Joseph Christiansen; The more relieved and terrified John both became.

Relieved, because he had never opened up to someone like that before. Tell them that he was some vague cryptid that rampaged across early Scotland's shores to the point where his and his kinds’ exploits were actually recorded in human history, and not put a knife in him afterwards. 

Terrified, because the unknown is just one giant rabbit hole where a terrifying beast lies deep down at the bottom, whispering the most realistic lies to your mind, and your body just seizes up like it is inevitable that ‘it’ will actually happen. It's a madness on the level of the most fucked up curses that can slowly kill someone and John just wants to cry enough to make his mind NOT behave in this ‘flight or flight’ nonsense his senses are trying to trick him into!

He WANTS to trust someone.

Oh, good god, almighty, does the need to want to trust someone, OTHER than Amanda, dig at him so deeply that every night that he has to put on music just to get his mind to relax enough to trick itself into slipping away into the black void of sleep. It doesn’t help that he dreams of walking about the neighborhood as a nuckelavee and none of the other dads look at him like he’s a huge murder machine on four long, hoofy legs. Their kids asking for horseback rides with great enthusiasm that has him tearing up from how fucking liberating it feels to be loved and not feared, only to wake up with his eyes puffy and a cold white ceiling staring back at him.

That kind of trust, unfortunately, isn't something he can just give out all willy-nilly like Amanda assumes. It’s like giving someone your social security card and not expecting them to go digging around into your shit or accessing your bank accounts to rob you blind. 

John might steal social security numbers and people’s identities but he is so ridiculously careful in managing said-identity of very NATURALLY dead people that he becomes that he can’t even fathom becoming someone else again. Not without a huge identity crisis, like the last time he had to abandon his identity when that persona was clearly getting attention John could not deflect easily anymore. Everyone seemed to want to talk to a ninety-seven year old man who was in amazing shape and still living on his own, for some goddamn reason.

To physically dig out his OWN identity and put that into Joseph's hands was like giving him the spare keys to everything he owns now as the man who he ALWAYS wants to be.

He doesn't WANT to throw away everything he’s built up over these last few decades, especially not his emotional investment in Amanda. 

Amanda loves him, nuckelavee/’horse dad’ or not, but she is legally registered as a dependant of the man named ‘John’, not some vague cryptid! If he has to run and toss off the identity as ‘John’ then it WILL affect Amanda. It might not be as traumatic now that she is legally an adult, but, dear god, the shit will hit the proverbial fan; Impact softened or not! 

Things like getting loans will be significantly harder and she needs someone to act as a co-sign if her credit score isn’t enough, and god help them both if the IRS gets involved!

It’s all these reasons and more that has John staring down at his phone on the bar counter at one in the morning while slowly nursing down his third whiskey. 

John has been avoiding Joseph ever since the confessional two days ago, like a total coward.

Joseph, bless his heart, has been going about life like he doesn’t have a monster living next door to him. His smiles and waves at John over the fence are the genuine thing when John goes out to his mailbox to retrieve the bills and junk mail in it. The normal miasma around him wafting off smoothly in thin strips of grey smoke with the tar-like miasma almost hard to see if John doesn’t actively look for it clinging tightly to Joseph’s frame. It has John absolutely baffled and feeling guilty right after as he turns away from Joseph’s beaming smile and clutched the mail tightly to his chest as he retreats back into the safety of his home.

Joseph has been true to his word on waiting until John texts him before he’ll say anything - The blonde man keeping his distance and giving him patient smiles while John just felt like he was treating him like absolute dirt in comparison. He doesn’t deserve a confident like Joseph, much less the honor of being something special to both him and his beautiful wife. He felt like a raccoon stealing from their trash that is barely tolerated because he brings some form of relief to the family. It’s not a nice comparison but John isn’t exactly in a positive mood as he feels the buzz of alcohol in his brain.

By the fourth whiskey, John somehow manages to unlock his phone and send some incoherent text to Joseph. The bartender cuts him off right there and John pays off his tab, like a model drunk these bars wish they could have, before stuffing his wallet back into his pants. Everything feels heavier around him now - The miasma from the other alcoholics pouring so much easily into his body as his own dark cloud fogs around his own vision. 

He staggered out of the bar after pushing the door open and let the cool night air smack him in the face. John stood there on the front step of the bar, dully looking up at the clear sky and stars and feeling envious of the celestial bodies that had no worries whatsoever. 

The door is shoved open behind him and he is thrown off balance enough that he slams hard into the metal of the hand rails. Stabbing pain shoot through his side from the impact as he slid down into a sitting position on the concrete, leaning his shoulder into the iron bars to support him as he clenched his side. He’s going to have one hell of a bruise to go with his hangover tomorrow but, thankfully, his phone is dropped down into his lap by some good samaritan before the door is closed firmly behind him.

Maybe they’re not so much ‘good’ if they couldn’t bother to call his drunk ass a cab and hit him with the door, he idly thought as he rests his head against the cold steel of the hand rail, enjoying the comfort it brought to his sweating forehead. He wasn’t aware of how hot his body was and jokingly thought he was on fire from how much miasma was expelling from his mouth and orifices. 

Tears rolled down his cheeks in hot, stinging streaks as he started bawling. His breath hiccuping hard with each pathetic moan and sob as he clenched his phone in his hand down on his lap. He was absolutely miserable and sickly relieved that Mary nor Robert were not here to try and comfort him.

“I deserveee thiisss!!” He cried out like the damn drama queen he was. John’s breath hitched even harder with every cough and whine that came from his throat as he brought a hand up to cover his face. His tears streaking down freely from the corners over his eyes no matter how much John tried to rub them away.

He was going to lose everything he ever worked for.

He was going to lose Amanda, his place in this world as ‘John’, his livelihood, the neighborhood he was starting to fit into, the friends he made in said-neighborhood: 

Robert.

Craig.

Mary.

And…

“JOOOOSEPH!!!” John howled out in agony as he slammed his fist down hard on his thigh over and over. Wanting to hurt and punish himself for everything he thought he could have for once in his life.

John heard the door open and quickly pulled himself to his feet in a blind panic. He tripped and staggered over himself as he fled from the front step of the bar, not wanting to inconvenience anyone else with the noise he was making. His heart pulling itself to pieces as he went from the parking lot and tripped head-first into the dirt, tears feeling like daggers rolling down his cheeks from humiliation he was suffering from on top of his pain too. The sudden drop making him project all the contents of his stomach into a puddle on the ground before he dug his fingers into the dirt to pull himself towards the forest behind the bar and run for it once he finally got his legs securely under him.

The dark miasma fuming like barrels of smoke now in front of his eyes and making it hard to see as he just ran. Just ran as far as his legs would take him while the miasma and the everything violently swirling world in front of him twisted and bent the trees he tried to thread through them. The brush so much closer than he thought it was and tripped over before slamming his shoulder into a bolder that somehow clipped him out of nowhere?

He had no idea where he was going but followed his body and mind’s most strongest impulse to run. The black miasma from inside of him swallowing him whole as fabric bursted into shreds his body felt a deep, agonizing itch finally get some relief - John struggling as he tried to get up before he toppled over harder to the ground than before. 

John to let out the most terrifying, otherworldly scream from his mouths as pain clamped all around him like a vice drenched in acid.

He scrambled to get his feet under him and his hands on the ground as he thrashed in his panicked state from the pain. Up was down in the never ending swirling black mixing with the treeline and the ground. Pain shot sharply through the back of John’s hand and he grabbed it tightly. His eyes focused down in horror at bright red fluid rolled down black flesh. John rolled over and hacked up black fluid, his lower face covered in the hot trapped fluids before John grabbed whatever was obstructing it and tore it off. The clattering of metal echoing in the silent forest as it hit the ground, John’s hands brushing off the black, sticky fluid off his chin and jaw in disgust as he retched loudly.

This night was just getting more and more fucked up. 

He struggled to get his feet on the grass and get up. His body felt too heavy and cumbersome in his nuckelavee form, assuming he wasn't hallucinating this whole episode he was stuck in. John was just an absolute mess and had a huge need to get to water. 

Water was safe. 

Water was calming.

Water was…!

Water was home!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter but please leave a review if you enjoyed it anyways!


	8. Morning After

John seemed to have found water in the haze of his mad episode in the woods last night as he opened his eyes; Finding himself still a nuckelavee as the warm morning sun broke through the treelines and roused him from sleep. He was laying on his side in a shallow creek, his horse half partially submerged with his left side hovering almost comedically above the surface of the slow flowing water. John’s human half was lying uncomfortably against a sharp incline on the hill leading down to it, making him groan from how much pain it was to even lift his head off the mildew-covered grass. 

He let out a groan as he shifted his shoulder, feeling a very firm stone he had the misfortune to collapse on before passing out in the ‘safety’ of a damn creek, it seemed. The dull throb of a hangover amplified his misery as the high-pitched chirps of the birds of the forest and a woodpecker that insisted on hammering away at a tree very far from John’s grasp. While the water felt nice to lay in since he was a water-originating cryptid, he does need to eventually get up and pray that no one found his shredded clothing, wallet or phone.

Where was he anyways?

His vision was no longer obstructed by his own miasma but the clarity certainly didn't aid in answering his question. He slipped his hooves under his horse half and awkwardly threw his weight to the opposite side of the tiny creek. Unable to catch himself with his numb hooves, John flopped sideways into the stream with an audible smack, water flying upwards around him from impact. He groaned in his now-sufficiently drenched state, deciding to thrust out his legs awkwardly and shake the pins and needles out of them first before he would try that stunt again. It would be easier to just save energy and shift back but he had no clue as to where he was and what sort of creatures might be stalking the forest if he was in the deepest parts where cryptids like himself might call home. He would be easily killed in his human form so he stayed shifted as he finally managed to get himself onto his shaky horse legs ten exhausting minutes later.

Droplets of water scattered everywhere as John shook off both the rider and horse portions of himself, bringing his hands up afterwards to wring the water out of his rider half’s hair before shaking his head once more. His horse half’s mane and tail would dry out eventually as he gave both parts another good shake before exiting the creek on sore legs. As nice as it was to sleep in water for a change, he kind of wished his drunk self had stumbled head first into a lake or, at the very least, a deep river and not a shallow, dirty stream coming off a creek. He certainly wouldn’t be having aches or pains from sleeping bodies of water that could support his form’s weight and wouldn’t drown in it either as he sunk to the bottom due to it being part of his ‘origin’ of sorts.

John wasn’t going to apply the law of physics to himself, much less question why he could sink AND walk on water depending on his needs at the moment. What matters is that neither kills him and that works out just fine without bringing logic into it when he was a nuckelavee. His human form obeys all logics and that’s all that matters at the end of the day for him.

His gauntlet on his right hand disappeared easily as he willed it and brought his pinky up to scratch vaguely at an itch in his rider half’s ears while his horse half took very slow steps forward to get his leg muscles working again. They were aching like a bitch with how he fell asleep on a not-fluffy surface that could not distribute his weight evenly and was paying dearly for it amongst general hangover symptoms. At least he slept in water and absorbed enough to avoid a headache? He wasn’t nauseous or anything that severe but the deep pain in his head every time a bird chirped nearby made him wish he slept in till dusk came again. He grabbed his head with his hands when a chirping bird flew by and shuddered, making his horse half let off a soft whine from his agony. Just for good measure, John rid himself of the other gauntlet to press his palms to his ears to try to dampen the cheerful noises of the forest as he presumable walked slowly back the way he came from.

That plan immediately was ditched when he heard the sound of familiar rock music playing on the complete other side of the creek and startled the hell out of him. He sharply turned around and regretted leaping over the stream as his legs ached even more from the impact of jumping in his nuckelavee form. Needles inconveniently stabbing their way up from his hooves and legs to remind him that he wasn’t exactly ready to do more than walk at the moment but the music from his phone was like that of a siren as it compelled him up the hill in search of the device he dropped. 

He paused at the top of the hill when the melody came to a halt before bolting off forward towards his phone as it played again, making him idly wonder how loudly he set his damn ringtone the night before or if it was just his enhanced hearing making it sound louder in this form than his human one. All were very valid explanations as he carefully weaved through the trees and hop lightly over tree roots, slowing down his pace considerably when it got blaring loud enough to signal that it was somewhere nearby. Last thing he wanted to do was step on the damn thing and force him to trek his way back home the old fashioned way. GPS would be a very nice thing to have right now while he was lost in some random forest.

The sun, thankfully, gave him some help as he noticed a shiny glare beaconing his eyes to it, and sighed in relief at seeing his ugly yellow phone case bleed out from the long grass trying to conceal it. As much as he hated the idea of getting back down on the ground with his aching horse half’s legs, John brought his horse half around and made himself knee down so he could awkwardly lean his whole horse half over and scoop up his phone. He quickly rose to his feet and started shaking his legs out from the pins and needles trying to cause him more misery from the action as he glanced down to see who was beaconing him.

‘Joseph’.

John swiped his finger over the slightly damp screen to answer and brought his phone up to the side of his head. “Joseph?” 

“Oh, thank God!” Joseph sighed heavily in relief with a raspy voice, Joseph hearing the blonde sniffle hard and blow his nose into a tissue before he resumed speaking. “Where ARE you, John!?” He demanded, catching John off guard from how sudden the shift was and making his horse half take a step back in surprise.

“I-...! Um…! I-I don’t know?” John tried answering, feeling incredibly guilty that he couldn’t answer Joseph’s question like he wanted him to. “I got drunk last night and ended up as a horse somewhere in the forest!”

There was a long pause between them, John taking the time to turn and observe his surroundings since he did stick out like a sore thumb amongst the greens of the forest. He might be in the shade of a packed forest but who knows if anyone was watching him from a safe distance. The idea that he might not be deep in the middle of a forest but possibly near a forest preserve entrance or the like unnerved him until Joseph spoke back up anxiously.

“To be honest, I thought someone abducted you when you answered the phone. I hadn't considered hearing your, um, ‘horseman’ voice, if that’s okay to say.” He chuckled nervously, trying to make a light-hearted joke over the whole ordeal. That, or Joseph didn't feel comfortable enough in his pronunciation of the word ‘nuckelavee’ to risk trying to say it, either was valid and John wouldn't knock him over it; They had bigger issues at the moment. 

John found himself sheepishly bringing his free hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “Um… Now you know, I guess? I don't make a habit it for obvious reasons.” He chuckled.

It was kind of liberating, in a way, to be having a casual conversation with Joseph as a nuckelavee, especially with a phone acting as a way to keep things comfortable on both sides. There was no way Joseph would be ready to see what John actually looked like and John wasn't keen on the reveal happening just yet either. It was going to take a bit of time before John could trust Joseph to actually not out him, especially if Joseph worried that his religion might not take too kindly to John’s existence at all.

They would need to have a long talk about the Catholic Church and what Joseph knows that has him paranoid on John’s behalf. Maybe it was just too much TV and video game plots featuring church-backed hunter groups that had him worried, regardless if such organizations did exist centuries ago.

“So, uh, how is your network signal out there, John? Our call quality seems fine right now but I think GPS might help you find your way out of the forest than I could.” Joseph brought up, trying to be as helpful as possible in John’s hour of need.

John pulled the phone away from his ear and noticed that he had two bars; Not great but it should ideally let him access a map app with GPS functionality. He brought the phone back to his ear. “Not terrible reception out here. My biggest problems are that I don't have any wearable clothing. My wallet and keys are also AWOL at the moment, so, that’s a thing…” John sighed as he felt his rider half’s upper body sag expressively. 

“Oh goodness! From bad to just plain worse!” 

John chuckled nervously at that. “Yeah… I at least have an idea of what direction I came from in the forest after finding my phone. Thanks for that, by the way.” He added with a sincere smile.

“I’m glad to be of help, John. If you want, I could bring a spare change of sweats for you to change into! Do you remember where you went drinking last night?”

John tensed up at that, his horse portion coming to a halt as it shuddered and let out a quiet whine from its mouth. “I- … I don’t think I’m comfortable enough to show you what I look like yet, Joseph.” He mumbled apologetically into the phone, Joseph quickly laughing in a reassuring way to dismiss his uncertainty.

“No, no! I’ll leave the clothes hanging from a branch a ways inwards so you can do what you need to before coming back out to your car! I’ll go run errands nearby just in case you want me to help you comb the forest afterwards for your wallet and keys. Does that sound alright?”

John let out a sigh of relief as he let his body relax, continuing forward through the forest while keeping an eye out for heavily disturbed vegetation or hoof prints that would imply he went through the area last night. “I would appreciate that, Joseph. I went to the ‘Stellar Bar’ one town over last night, I think.”

“I’ll google that and head over with the goods. Anything else I should bring other than a change of clothes?”

John felt himself smile at Joseph’s eagerness to help him out. “Maybe a spare pair of flipflops and a bottle of water?” He asked sheepishly, not wanting to be too much of a bother but walking around barefooted in the forest wasn’t exactly an enjoyable prospect for John.

“Sure thing! I’ll let you go now since we don’t want your phone battery dying out on you before you find your way back!”

“Alright. I’ll see you soon, Joseph.” 

“Good luck!” Joseph encouraged him with a smile that John swore could hear on the other side of the phone as they both hung up.

John felt warmth blossom pleasantly throughout his chest, reinvigorating his spirit as his horse half let out a defiant snort and raised its head up with renewed determination. Joseph gave him the extra spark he sorely needed at a time like this where it would be easier to feel scared and frightened. He now had a way to deal with his nudity issue and an extra pair of eyes if his search for his missing items did not turn up on his way back to civilization. Everything would be alright! John just had to think positively!

With a plan all set, John paused his steps and turned on the GPS function of his phone since he wasn’t comfortable leaving it on at all times. He tapped a finger on his ‘maps’ app and waited a good few moments for it to load up and start searching for his position. John knew he wouldn’t pinpoint his location with one hundred percent accuracy but it would be better than following a river to a major body of water and hope some stranger wouldn't run away or call the cops on his naked ass.

The app showed a map that gradually zoomed in on the Crystal Lake forest preserve he was currently inside, just several miles north of the entrance where he and Amanda parked at for midnight strolls. He knew the forest preserve was big but the map showed how little he actually knew of the protected land itself; The damn place was huge on the map with Maple Bay barely outsizing it by maybe two or so miles on each direction. John hummed curiously at that as he brought a hand up to scratch at his chin, putting the information away for later use if he wanted to further explore the place. 

Using his thumb and index finger, he touched the screen and pulled them away from the other to zoom in on his location the best he could without losing track of the nearby roads, especially the landmarker for the bar. He started heading forward to where he thought the road was since the app had no idea of his current facing. Red eyes watched the blue dot that represented John on the map, seeing how many steps it would take before his position updated and show if he was heading in the right direction.

John paused in his steps as he caught a glimpse of something approaching him from his horse half’s vision, lowering his phone and turning his rider half’s head in the direction he spotted the cautious, yellow aura; The aura of a ‘neighbor’ that was signaling its approach to John. 

A palm-sized fae fluttered over to John, its wing beating rapidly and channeling the golden aura instead of dispersing it to remain hidden from John’s eyes, especially when his attention was split with walking straight and watching his phone. It was like a miniature male human with all of its parts on display unlike in the picture books and movies where they wear leaves and stuff to conform to human decency standards. 

John had no need to fear the fair folk, they knew better than to try to prey on something as old as he is.

“Hey!” The neighbor greeted with his tiny masculine voice, clearly nervous about approaching John but gave him a friendly wave of the hand. John returned it in a polite fashion and that apparently meant that the flying cryptid could relax as he flew closer but stayed a healthy distance away. 

“I’m a bit busy at the moment.” John politely spoke, having no reason to exert his obvious superiority over the other fae if he could help it. Best to make friends then foes in this era where all of them suffered due to technology.

“Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You went down pretty hard last night.” 

John internally cursed his luck at being caught out like that by a random fae but gave the guy the benefit of the doubt that he might not be looking to con him. “I bet it was entertaining but, as I said, I need to attend to something. I'm sorry.” He resumed walking forward, his guard up and hand holding on tightly to his phone in case the fae tried to snatch it.

The fae quickly flew alongside John, clearly thrown off by his decline for casual conversation. “W-Wait! Hold on there, Neighbor! You’re going the wrong way if you’re trying to find the human bar you came from!” It insisted, John resisting the urge to roll his eyes at what seemed like a ploy to draw him into the fae world via misdirection.

“It’s alright, Neighbor. My phone here can lead me out of the forest. Assuming no one is influencing the air around here, that is.” John spoke, leaving the obvious unspoken warning hanging in the air in case the fae was older than he appeared. This fae has been watching him since he entered the forest and he had every right to be suspicious but not rude.

“Oh? That’s good!” The fae remarked happily, which John found to be rather… odd. “If you need to find your human clothing, leather card holder and transportation keys, I can guide you to them for your helmet!” It gleefully remarked, making no effort of concealing its trickery for once. John came to a halt and narrowed his eyes skeptically at his ‘neighbor’, the fae extra excited that it managed to catch John’s interest.

“Isn’t it rather rude to listen into other’s conversations, Neighbor?” John carefully chastised the fae, finally having a reason to do so without violating the unspoken rules that govern conversation with the fair folk. 

The fae frowned at that, not as annoyed at being talked to like the fae he interacted with a century or two ago when he came to America and their kind still held some form of power over the immigrant population that knew of them. “Right. I guess there’s no reason to offer my assistance like that. Sorry about listening in to your conversation, Neighbor.” The fae apologized sincerely, making John halt completely.

Was he having a fever dream or did a fae actually make an apology to him?

What was going on here?!

“Listen, Neighbor. I got a confession to make…” It sheepishly began as it rubbed it’s hand nervously against its arm. 

“... Which is?”

“Look, you have to know this place ain’t Salem and has shit energy for folks like us to harness. I’ve been stuck here for five decades after the portal I used shit me out here and there’s roads everywhere with the Mundies walking all over.” It explained anxiously to John, “I got family who has no clue where I am and your helmet has enough energy for me to port my sorry ass home, okay?”

John continued to stare skeptically at the fae, not sure why it would try to get him to hand over a helmet that he clearly didn't have. Still, you don't call fae out if you don't want trouble and it might be worth investigating if it wasn't lying…

“Show me where I dropped my helmet first then I’ll consider it, Neighbor.” He asked, the fae growing excited at the prospect rather than demanding that John strike a deal with him here and now. 

“Certainly! Follow me!”

\--

John turned his phone app off to conserve power as he followed the fae through the forest for a short while. He noted the deep hoof prints in the mud and the many branches that were thrown about in the grass, signs that a hooved animal may have passed through here but John was cautious in trusting that these were caused by him. There could be wild horses in the forest, after all. Irresponsible owners letting them run free rather than hand them over to the authorities if they couldn't take care of them.

It made him wonder why the fae was so lenient. Was it really as desperate as it made it seem? 

John has no idea how to sense energy in his environment because he only fed off the fear of living creatures prior to converting into a human-passing cryptid. How other cryptids lived and survived wasn't something he was ever concerned about. His first wife’s family were human-passing fae right off the bat and were a lot different than the small flying variety in front of him. Why were a lot of mythical humanoids called ‘fae’ anyways? There was a huge difference between the neighbor leading him and himself as a nuckelavee but they were both called ‘fae’ regardless!

“Here we are, Neighbor!” 

John was pulled out of his head as he came to a halt next to the hovering fae, gazing down in the direction it pointed to and felt a chill run down his spine as he saw a familiar, but long given away relic from his past; His full helm lying discarded on its side in the grass. The eye holes empty and unsettling as he stared at the sculpted unnatural humanoid-features into the metal that he had long forgotten were there. 

It brought back a memory of a stern yet kind witch. Her annoyed scowl at John’s impatience when it came to magic and pushing him to perfect his glamor. 

John felt his heart sink at the thought that he wore that monstrous helm for so long, not even bothering to look at a human long enough to get the details right. It was no wonder the witch was so hard on him since he didn't respect humans enough back then.

He had an idea why it suddenly reformed on him when John shifted last night, after centuries of refusing the temptation to syphon off the fear of humans again; Joseph’s fear, the black miasma that suffocated John on the trail ride, gave him the energy he used to live off of centuries ago, on the Scottish Isles - Enough to fully reform him and his helm when he shifted. ‘The fear of the nuckelavee’ was still a potent energy source to him but an absolute toxin if he was in his human form, unable to push it's tar-like weight away from his delicate body.

John warily looked at the proud fae as he waited for negotiations to start before glancing back down at the helm, disgust and shame flowing through him at the sight. 

“Fine. I’ll give you that helm and the power it has if you lead me to the remains of my human clothing, ‘leather card holder’, and ‘transportation keys’, Neighbor.” John spoke with ease, no hesitation at all about giving away the helm as long as he worded it in a way that wouldn't have the fae coming back to him for seconds if John does get enough energy to form another one in the future.

Joseph might have his fear under control but he wanted to believe that he could eventually trust Mary with his secret, assuming things work out between Joseph and him first. Only time would tell with that one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys enjoying this fic so far? Leave a review and let me know! 
> 
> Also you can tell me about any plot bunnies you have regarding anything in the story! No promises that they'll ever be addressed in the fic though!
> 
> Also, the Halloween chapter obviously won't be happening on Halloween in real time. sorry for those who thought i would be clever enough to plan shit out. lol


	9. Who Says You Can't Come Home?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Neighbors help each other out before John and Joseph have a little heart-to-heart.

“Here we are, Neighbor! Your stuff, just like I promised!” The Fae happily announced after they spent thirty minutes walking about, waiting for John to approach before gesturing down to the blown out grass where scraps of clothing laid scattered about. 

John carefully inched forward with his hooves, both pair of ears and eyes sharp for anything remotely out of place nearby. 

The grass was folded over and radiating with miasma that drifted up and off the blades like a fire had recently burned out, like smoke drifting off the warm ambers. He could see the remains of his jeans nearby, only one leg torn in ribbons barely held together at the hem at the bottom. John was a bit relieved to see one of his shoes upside down in the epicenter of the folded grass in one piece but he would have to actually flip it over to see the shape of the inside before claiming them salvageable.

His small flying neighbor hovered nearby as John cautiously scanned the open area from the trees and brush that somewhat hid his massive form. There was no human nearby, as far as he could sense, but that was relying purely on hearing and sight. If the human wasn’t directly in his line of sight John wouldn’t be able to pick up their misery cloud since it was the only way he stayed sane these past few centuries living amongst humans. Creatures with unique auras, like the fae floating nearby, were different matters entirely and the exception to intentionally dulled down supernatural senses.

With the items in plain sight, John carefully maneuvered his horse half around the cover he was behind and walked as quietly as he could manage over to the items. The place was such a damned mess from his transformation last night that it honestly had him a bit paranoid of someone stumbling upon it when he eventually left. 

As he approached the remains of one of his jean legs, his horse half leaned it’s head down and picked it up with its teeth. Moving slowly over to the base of one of the nearby trees, John’s horse head carefully deposited the large scrap before both the horse and his human half’s head started looking for the missing items he was here to collect. 

“You’re really going to clean up?” The fae asked as it landed on one of the nearby tree branches to watch John go to work as he slowly turned his cumbersome horse body around. “Also, watch your left rear hoof, Neighbor. Your transport keys are where your hoof is going.” 

John quickly paused in his turn, being the process of rotating slowly the other way until his heads were vaguely in the direction where his hoof would have fallen. It was such a pain maneuvering his large body in such a tight area, not to mention the numerous roots would make it hard on his knees when he gets down multiple times to collect his scattered items. His horse half let out a mopey whine at that before the phone in John’s hand started to vibrate, almost making his horse half rear up in surprise until he resisted the urge.

He glanced down at his phone and saw a new text message from Joseph popping up. John quickly unlocked his phone and opened up the messenger app to see what Joseph had to say.

Joseph: Your car might have been towed, John. It’s not in the parking lot.

John groaned at that as he brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. 

Great. 

Now he was going to have to ask to bum a ride from Joseph or something and make his regretful night turn even more into an embarrassment as he heaved a heavy sigh.

John: Hopefully it was just that and no one stealing it.

John: You think I could get a ride with you to the towing compound?

Joseph must have been parked at the bar parking lot still because his response was rather fast.

Joseph: Of course! I’m here anyways so why not make things a bit easier for you?

John felt his chest squeeze happily from that. He could always count on Joseph to have his back in trying times like theses. It made him love the holy man even more so for his kind heart when he could easily just drop off the stuff and leave John to his own devices. John had already been a burden enough to the other man, especially now that he knew his secret.

He paused at that thought as he brought his fingers to a halt while typing out his gratitude to the blonde man.

His secret…

John glanced down at the forest floor at that, realizing his keys and the like were still hiding in the brush while his anxious neighbor waited for John to give him the ‘okay’ to take his helmet, and the mana it contained, to return home to their own family. Using his front hoof, John carefully brushed the tip against the grass, listening for the telling jingle sound of his keys to see if the fae was not lying to him - that he wanted John to give him the ‘okay’ without verifying the items might still be here still.

It took several sweeps with his hoof but he felt both sets of his ears perk up when his keys got rolled over by the hoof. John quickly moved himself so he was parallel with where the noise came from and spotted a familiar Pikachu charm poking out of the long grass; His keys!

A few more experimental pulls with his hoof revealed flashes of his house and car keys still attached to the key ring (along with Pikachu), meaning that it was very possible that his wallet would still be around as well!

John felt excitement flow through him as he looked up at his neighbor on the branch with a smile. “Thank you for that! Any idea where my ‘leather card holder’ is?” He asked happily, seemingly helping the fae relax now that it knew it helped John find what he was looking for, meaning he was one step closer to heading home in the first time in fifty years.

The fae stood up to his full, tiny height and gazed about the area from its vantage point. John knew he must have found it in the grass at one point since the fae DID correctly describe the wallet, and it’s contents, to John. It hummed in thought before taking off from the branch and flying about slowly, John leaving it to find the location once more before turning his thoughts back to Joseph.

If Joseph was nearby then John won’t have to kneel down in his nuckelavee form and the man could just directly bring him the items he needed. It would be easier scouring the place, and possibly cleaning up, if he activated his ‘friends find’ feature on his phone so Joseph could directly find him. It would be better instead of John wandering around as a nuckelavee looking for the sweatshirt and pants Joseph would hang up for him in the trees…

Also… Maybe he actually wouldn’t mind showing Joseph what he looked liked as much as he originally thought, now that he thought about it…

Turning back to his message, he added a bit more before sending it off to Joseph.

John: I really can’t thank you enough for all you do for me, Joseph.

John: I want to trust you with who I really am, if you’re comfortable with seeing me as… well, me, I guess.

John: I’ll turn on my ‘friends find’ app. Come find me and bring the stuff.

John felt an enormous weight lift off his shoulders as he sent off that last message and minimized the messenger app to tap the ‘friends find’ app. With their close proximity, the phones would be able to find each other better on local signs than GPS with it’s much broader signal. John wasn’t exactly sure if that was correct since Amanda tried explaining it to him once but that was pretty much how he remembered since it was a similar theory to how mana works, in one way, out of many.

John’s horse half lifted it’s head like John’s heart did when the invite he sent to Joseph’s ‘friends’ account was accepted. His heart racing in his chest as he found himself taken by the courage and level of trust Joseph had for him, especially when a new message popped up in the messenger app.

Joseph: On the way!

He smiled happily at that before looking up and glancing about for his neighbor. The fae would need to depart before Joseph would get here since the poor thing was justifiably terrified of humans.

“Neighbor?” John asked, taking care not to move his hooves out of fear of stepping on something.

“I found it!” The fae excitedly called back with its small voice. John was about to ask the fae to guide him as he turned around before something plopped into the grass to John left. “Oof! Damn thing’s heavy!” It chuckled as it came around to enter John’s peripheral vision, looking pleased as punch.

John felt his grin grow. “You found and even carried it over? I can’t thank you enough, Neighbor!” He felt himself saying even though he was always suspicious of the fae. This one seemed determined to prove him wrong, it seemed.

The fae placed its hands on its hips as it hovered near John, a proud smile on its face. “No problem! Anything to get me home is worth doing right!” 

John nodded his head in agreement to that statement. “Indeed. Consider the helmet, and it’s mana, yours, Friend. Have a safe journey home, alright?” He sincerely spoke to the fae.

The fae seemed absolutely touched by that. “I will, Neighbor! You have a safe travel home as well! Thank you again for your helmet!” It gratefully smiled, giving John a mutual wave of farewell before flying off in a hurry back into the forest, leaving John feeling relieved in many ways.

Hopefully it will find its way home for certain this time. John couldn’t imagine the agony of being away from family for fifty years, especially if there were people like Amanda waiting for him. The fae had a lot of courage approaching a nuckelavee for aid and John was all the more glad he gave his neighbor the little bit of trust they both needed to get them both started on the journey home.

Speaking of home, John felt his heart rate shoot up to the stratosphere as he heard rustling in the brush to his right. His eyes tearing away from where the fae went to seeing a familiar blonde in a pink polo step out into the clearing.

Joseph’s eyes were wide as he looked up from his phone to see John, in all of his nuckelavee glory. The youth group minister staring at him in a way that had John anxious like all those other ‘monster shifter’ protagonist in their corny movies. Oh god, why was he comparing this encounter to that of a shitty b-movie now?!

He clutched his phone in his rider’s hand, trying to not break down crying and pleading for Joseph to not turn and run from the abomination that was his sort-of boyfriend.

This was a bad idea.

There was a reason why monster movies always played this shit drama up because holy hell it was a massive fuck up to breach reality with this shit!

Joseph’s pretty eyes swallowed up John’s soul as the man was too afraid to move or even say anything. God, why did he think Joseph was ready for this again?!

“John?”

John was pulled out of his head as he watched Joseph approach him, the man’s shoes shuffling through the tall grass while he made his way over slowly. The minister must have gone mad with how confidently he made his way forward toward a monster that gladly skewered humans with his spear without a care. John’s horse half let a small, concerned whine out of its lips as John slowly backed away from Joseph, ears pressed backwards in fear but not enough to make John bolt. Part of himself wanted to see where this would go; To see if Joseph was really worth trusting fully from this first interaction.

His heart deeply longed for his touch on his real body…

Just once… 

Just once could he have what he wanted?

“Why are you backing away, John?” Joseph asked, making John pause as he looked at the ideal family man with grass stains all over his pants and socks from moving through the tall, thick grass. Mud likely clinging to the bottom of his shoes as he moved through the early morning dew-coated ground just to find him.

John could smell the cologne the man wore as he drew closer to him with a reassuring smile on his beautiful lips. Again, his horse half expressed the discontent in John’s heart as it whined, front hoof idly digging at the grass to occupy himself as Joseph was now within reach of his demonic horse’s head.

“I just… I’m not used to this.” John hesitantly confessed to Joseph, feeling relieved when the blonde paused in his approach and retracted his hands that hovered so close to his horse half's muzzle. He had to resist the urge to step forward and shove his horse half’s face right into Joseph's hands to get the affection he so badly wanted from the other man.

Joseph chuckled sweetly as he anxiously rubbed his hands together. “Where are my manners today? You don’t pet someone’s dog with asking and that should apply the same to your horse as well, John.” 

John felt his cheek warm up in embarrassment as his fingers traced the yellow case of his phone sheepishly. “Erm… The horse is kind of… me as well? Heh?”

Joseph blinked at that in an oddly adorable manner as he looked from John’s rider half to the horse half looking at him eagerly, ears perked forward in keen interest and unable to hide John’s blatant adoration for Joseph. If the man was familiar with horses then John would be shit up a creek at trying to hide anything from the man. Thank goodness he wasn’t too in touch, in any case.

“Really? The horse is you too, John?” He asked in absolute fascination as he carefully walked around to see how John’s horse half would react, the head turning to watch Joseph move even if John could clearly see Joseph from his rider half’s view point. 

Joseph adorably put a hand to his chest in surprise at the horse year’s movement, getting the reaction John wanted before clutching his phone to his own chest from how overwhelming happy he was. This guy was going to kill him from how cute and wholesome he was in moments like these, immortal or not.

“Wow. Just look at you! You have such cool armor on, John! Is it real?” Joseph asked with intrigue as he brought his hand up to cup his own chin in fascination before gasping in delight as he took that hand and jabbed his index finger upwards at John’s rider half. “Is that a javelin on your back?!”

John’s rider half was keeling over from how excruciatingly endearing Joseph’s excitement was, never in a million years would he have predicted someone to find his nuckelavee form to be the definition of ‘cool’. He was going to die! Joseph Christiansen wasn’t going to kill him with a knife, gun, or holy artifact, but pure enthusiasm for what John is.

“Please stop…!” John whined as he clutched his phone to his chest plate. “Y-You’re killing me here, Christiansen…!”

Joseph seemed startled when John pleaded for him to stop, worry maring that cute face of the minister before John clarified that he wasn’t physically causing him ill. The sweet and mischievous smile that curled Joseph’s lips upwards had John anxious for what the blonde had planned as he continued to step forward with even more confidence than before.

“Aww! Does nobody but Amanda call you for what you are like this, Johnny?” He snickered teasingly as he placed a hand on John’s horse half’s muzzle to stroke it affectionately, drawing a weak whimper of protest from the horse half in response but nothing else.

John crossed his arms over his chest plate at that and let out an exaggerated ‘harumph!’, playfully trying to act tough. “I’ll nip your hand, Christiansen! Don’t think I won’t!” He huffed even though his legs moved so that he could maneuver his horse half into a prime position to shove his horse half’s face greedily into Joseph’s chest, drawing a playful, little ‘oof!’ from the grinning youth minister who took the whole thing in spades. The affectionate pets from the blonde’s hands came so easily like this, John absolutely melting inside as he tried to not look as ruined as he felt in front of Joseph.

“I’m a bit surprised, John. I kind of thought you would look scarier.” Joseph remarked idly as he continued to run his palm over the side of John’s Horse’s half neck while the head let out soft huff of contentment. 

John chuckled a bit nervously in response. “W-Well… I guess it helps that it’s morning and that you had a heads up?” He tried rationalizing out loud as he looked down at his phone and turned the ‘friends find’ app off to conserve the battery. He had to resist the temptation to let out a soft moan when he felt Joseph’s finger run through the mane on his horse half’ neck.

“Mmm. The few books I found online about Nuckelavees barely had any pictures or concrete descriptions on what the mythical beasts looked like. You know, ones that seemed like they would fit in our physical world, ironically enough.” Joseph explained as he looked up at John’s ride half with a wry smile. “You guys aren’t very popular.”

John had to laugh at that. “No shit! I think I kind of lucked out in that regard since unwinding in this form has confused plenty of people at a distance, especially at night. They just thought I was a guy in the park riding his horse around midnight.”

“I guess I’m very lucky to have the honor of meeting you like this, John.” Joseph smiled sincerely, gently patting the neck of John’s horse half lightly before stepping away to move towards the side of the horse where John’s rider half sat. He then paused as he got a good look at John’s rider half and smirked in amusement.

“Wh-what…?” John asked nervously, not liking that look on Joseph one bit.

“Just noticing how thin you look up there! I seriously wouldn’t have been able to guess it was you, even as the human portion, unless you told me it was you before!” He smiled sweetly, make John groan as he brought a hand up to cover his face.

“You’re bullying me, Christiansen. That’s not very nice!” John grumbled, drawing a laugh from Joseph beside him.

“I’m just messing with you, John!” Joseph grinned before turning to head back the way he came from, making John tense up a bit.

“Where are you going?”

“Just grabbing the stuff I set down on the rock back here!” Joseph answered reassuringly as he bent over behind the brush and came back with grey sweats, a bottle of water, and flip-flops hooked between his fingers in his other hand. “Figured you want to shift back sooner rather than later!” He happily added as he came to a halt a few feet away from John before his expression turned to one of embarrassment, a shade of pink spreading endearing over his cheeks. “Should I turn around?”

John felt himself relax at that and nodded the head of his rider half in acknowledgement. “Yeah. That would be nice. Thanks!”

Joseph smiled bashfully as he turned away from John, respecting his privacy so John wouldn’t get performance anxiety or something. With that, John closed his eyes and let himself relax, focusing on what he felt and saw as a human before locking in on that perspective. A smaller, approachable John… The John that adopted Amanda… The warmth he felt when he held her in his arms for the first time after signing the adoption papers…

He fell to the forest floor, landing on his bare feet as the rest of his dispersed and was carried off into the breeze. All stress and built up tension gone as he sighed in relief and stood back up to his full height. John’s body feeling great as he stretched his human arms out behind his head with a groan and opened up his eyes to see Joseph still facing away from him a few feet away. Warmth and adoration blossomed in John’s chest as he stepped forward and hugged Joseph from behind.

“Thank you, Joseph.” 

Joseph paused at that for a moment of surprise before chuckling sweetly. “You’re welcome, John.” 

John backed off from Joseph as the man handed back each piece of clothing John requested, slipping into the boxers first before pulling on the sweat shirt and pants. “I’m decent now.” John spoke, watching as Joseph turned around and handed him the flip flops to put on before uncapping the water bottle himself to pass to John. “Thanks.” He offered again as he finished slipping on the flops and took a greedy gulp of water to quench his dried out palate. 

“You’re welcome again, John.” Joseph offered once more too before placing his hands on his hips and glancing about the mess that littered the blown out grass. “It looked like your clothes were literally blown off you in an explosion.” He remarked as he stepped forward and leaned over to pick up John’s wallet in the grass. “At least the important stuff is left intact, right?” Joseph chuckled in amusement to make light of the whole situation, much to John’s relief.

John twisted the cap back on his water bottle before bringing a hand up to sheepishly rub the back of his neck. “Yeah. Usually I plan transformations in advance so I save on clothing expenses by taking them off before shifting.” He remarked before stepping over to the grass where he remembered his keys being, bringing his hand down to brush through the blades until he finally located Pikachu. “You have a plastic bag or something so I can make it look less like someone explosively went streaking in the woods last night?”

“Sure, always got to have one in my car when driving the kids around.” Joseph remarked, both of them heading back through the woods to the parking lot, not too far from where John transformed, to grab the bag and head back to clean up the scraps of clothing.

They both collected scraps in comfortable silence, Joseph sporting understanding smiles while John resisted the urge to continue apologizing for troubling the youth minister further. The guy had to have more questions he wanted to as John but so did John, as well. It looked like John would have to be the one to start pointing out the elephants in the room when they put the last scrap into the filled shopping bag and he watched as Joseph easily tied it up.

“About what happened at church…” John carefully started as they made their way back to civilization through the woods, side-by-side.

Joseph hummed sadly at that. “I didn’t mean to scare you during confessional, John.” He spoke apologetically as he glanced over at him to express his regrets. “I was scared, but not because of you! I was afraid the wrong people might be listening in and that’s what honestly frightens me the most.”

John nodded his head understandingly. “You’re not wrong to be paranoid. The Catholic Church had exterminating units centuries ago but they mostly conducted their hunts in Europe and the like.” He informed his friend. “The only other time where hunts were conducted was during Salem but the church wasn’t involved in that one, for once.”

Joseph quirked a brow at that. “Were you around during the Witch Trials?” He asked curiously, making John smile since he sounded kind of hesitant to ask about it. Probably afraid about assuming his age or something.

“Yeah. Wasn’t living near Massachusetts when it happened but it caused a lot of alchemists and actual witches to abandon their practices, as a result. No one wants to be the one to cause another massacre, especially when all of those hanged were not witches at all.” John reminisced, wondering about the witch that helped him long before the trials and how she ended up. His eyes gazed down to the ground to watch his own feet move forward through the tall grass, remembering the loneliness he felt from those days when he left the witch’s company to move from place-to-place like this.

“John?”

John looked up, pulled from his thoughts as he realized the grass had slipped and gave way to pavement during his minor daze. He turned to see Joseph by his side, looking at him with concern as they walked past his van in the empty parking lot of the bar. John pursed his lips together at that as he looked at Joseph apologetically, not really sure how to explain how lost he was in his head for that moment.

Joseph helped him out by gently guiding him to the passenger side of the van and helped him in without a word, giving John his wallet that he was carrying for him before closing the door. He went around the front of the van and climbed into the driver’s side, closing the door and tossing the tied up bag into the back before putting on his belt like John did.

“You got everything? Wallet, keys, and phone?” Joseph listed off for him helpfully.

“Check, check, and check.” John responded as he looked at all three items in his lap, feeling a lot more grounded and grateful for Joseph’s ability to lead in times like this.

Joseph smiled at that before putting the keys in the ignition, backing the car out of its spot to head over to the fenced off dumpster for the bar. He tapped in the address of the towing company into his GPS without a word before pulling away from it to head over to the road. John plugged his phone into the charger cord Joseph had and dialed in the number of the towing company to let them know they were on their way to collect his car after a receptionist picked up.

Light rock music filled the void after John hung up and set his phone down in one of the cup holders to charge. Joseph letting John relax into the car seat as he let himself drift off for a nap, feeling safe now that he was with Joseph and in his familiar car. The smell of Mary’s lingering perfume in the seat helped John in that endeavour, imagining the woman laying down with him and Joseph as they all happily fell asleep together in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy I'm finally posting this chapter! Look at how cute they are! 
> 
> As usual, please leave a review if you wanna scream about the fic! Reviews give me the energy I need to make more chapters!

**Author's Note:**

> Please please leave a review on this chapter. I've been toying with a 'nuckelavee au' for a long time and decided to try it with Dream Daddy rather than Overwatch. Please forgive me if I don't get all the character's voices down since I'm still playing the game as I'm writing. I'll rewrite details/voices that don't sound right the more I progress through DDADDs.


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